University President John T. Casteen, III dedicated Ruffin Hall, the first building on Grounds to house studio arts programs exclusively, to the late Peter and Adeline Ruffin yesterday afternoon. The ceremony marked the completion of the $25.9 million project that began in November 2006.
Ruffin Hall was largely funded by a $5 million donation from the Peter B. and Adeline W. Ruffin Foundation.Peter B. Ruffin was a graduate of the University, a sponsor trustee of the Darden School from 1964 to 1973 and a charter member of the Lawn Society.
Casteen opened the ceremony, and remarks were also given by Elizabeth Hutton Turner, University vice provost for the arts; Lawrence Goedde, department chair of the McIntire Department of Art; and Meredith Jung-En Woo, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. The speakers praised the new building and its offerings, many of which were not readily available before Ruffin Hall’s construction.
“The faculty asked for a building that would be a community of workshops,” Goedde said. “Ruffin Hall is exactly that community.”
The building was designed by Schwartz/Silver Architects of Boston, which “worked very closely with faculty members in the art department” to create a functional building that suits the unique needs of the University’s studio arts programs, Casteen said.
The newly dedicated Ruffin Hall has three floors and features a gallery on the third floor that will display works by contemporary artists. The building also offers studios for new media and cinematography, two areas that did not previously have studios elsewhere on Grounds.
The art department has about 100 students who declare studio art as their major, a University press release stated, and about 400 students take classes in studio art every semester. The expanded facilities in Ruffin Hall should help meet a demand from students that “continues to outstrip what we can offer,” Woo said.
“I’m really excited about this particular building,” she added, explaining that the new building is a reflection of the University’s dedication to “the full depth of academic inquiry.”
Woo also noted the significance of the building’s completion.
“Today, the artistic richness of the University has taken an important step,” she said.
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