CONTACT:
Eleanor Lewis
410-455-2065
elewis@umbc.edu

Baltimore, MD – On Friday, September 17, UMBC will celebrate the construction of its second LEED Silver building – the Performing Arts & Humanities Building (PAHB). A reception at 2:30 p.m. on the construction site will be followed by a groundbreaking ceremony at 3 p.m.

The event includes remarks by Governor Martin O’ Malley; Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith; University System of Maryland Chancellor William Kirwin; UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski; Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences John Jeffries; and performing arts and humanities students.

The PAHB will provide new, state-of-the art facilities for performing arts and humanities departments and programs, enhancing UMBC’s teaching, research and public outreach and heightening the visibility of the arts and humanities as major components of campus and community life.

"We're celebrating the beginning of a new chapter for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County,” said Governor O’Malley. “The new Performing Arts and Humanities Building is a true investment in the talents, skills, creativity, ingenuity and education of our people. Its ‘green’ design will help develop a more sustainable environment, and in these tough economic times, its construction will provide much-needed jobs for our hardworking families. Together, we can continue to nurture our students’ talents and gifts while providing them with the tools they need to build a better future.”

The first construction phase, scheduled to open in fall 2012, will provide space for the Department of English, the Department of Theatre, the James T. and Virginia M. Dresher Center for the Humanities, the Humanities Scholars Program, the Linehan Artist Scholars Program, and arts management offices; the second phase will provide space for the Departments of Ancient Studies, Dance, Music and Philosophy. The cost for Phase I is $87.6 million.

The PAHB will be situated on 4.8 acres on the west side of Hilltop Circle, adjacent to the existing Fine Arts, Engineering and Information Technology/Engineering Buildings. More information on the building is available at www.umbc.edu/pahb. A UMBC campus map (PDF) is available here: www.umbc.edu/blogs/parkingforum/new_parking_2010.pdf.

Building images are available at www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/hi-res/#pahb.

UMBC’s first LEED Silver building, an addition to Patapsco Residence Hall, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011.