Groundbreaking Ceremony Launches Center For The Dominican Experience

Dominican University of California broke ground this week on the Center for the Dominican Experience, which when it opens in August 2023 will become a dynamic academic and social hub that will enhance connections and collaboration between Dominican’s tight-knit community of students, faculty, and staff.

“Building the Center for the Dominican Experience will give the campus a physical space to host the distinctive educational model that supports all our students' success, serves as a driver of educational equity, and strengthens our links to our community,” Dominican President Nicola Pitchford said.

“The Center, to be housed in the same building as the Archbishop Alemany Library, will expand on the crucial role the library has always played as a focal space for teaching and learning, mentoring, group study, and for students and community to gather.”

The Center also will contain many spaces made possible by generous donors, including the Susan & Dennis Gilardi Center for Community Engagement & Partnerships; the Fletcher Jones Digital Portfolio Lab; the Marcy Center for Advising & Mentorship; and the Barbara Goodman Gallery.

A limited number of opportunities for the Center for Dominican Experience are still available; interested parties may contact the Advancement Office at Dominican.

The two-story facility will incorporate centralized student service offices, smart classrooms, conference rooms, a digital portfolio lab, a spacious learning commons and art gallery, and a new outdoor learning plaza. Interior glass walls will let light pour into the center of the building, and a new entrance on the south side will connect the residence halls to Dominican’s academic core. The Center will be located within the Archbishop Alemany Library, which for more than 60 years has occupied a prominent and central location on campus.

The Center will be home to the Dominican Experience, the University’s nationally-recognized educational model that facilitates social mobility through equitable access to connections and experiences for all students, regardless of background or social capital.

“The Center will be an architectural incarnation of the Dominican Experience, hosting meetings with integrative coaches and mentors, providing space for group projects, and putting all student services at arm’s reach,” President Pitchford said. “Above all, it will be a place for building community – welcoming students, faculty, staff, and community partners to gather at the heart of our campus.”

The University has raised about $6 million toward an $8 million goal to build the Center within the existing library. Pound Management Inc. is the project manager. The design is by HY Architects, and Alten Construction is the contractor. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in late August, with the work expected to take from 9-12 months. 

“This groundbreaking represents more than a decade of focused planning and innovation around a clear purpose: delivering Dominican students the very best, most accessible, most inclusive, most integrated, most holistic college experience we can,” President Pitchford said. “I’m so grateful to our donors and this inspiring community.”