Following UMass Board of Trustees Quarterly Meeting, Fitness Center Grand Opening to Demonstrate Investment in Students
UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman will be joined by university officials and students for the Grand Opening of the newly renovated and revamped UMass Dartmouth Fitness Center, December 11, at 11:30 a.m., at the UMass Dartmouth Tripp Athletic Center.
The unveiling will take place following the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees quarterly meeting occurring on the UMass Dartmouth campus. UMass Dartmouth's beloved mascot, Arnie Corsair, along with UMass Dartmouth student-athletes, will pull away the curtain and unveil the fitness center to all in attendance.
Following the unveiling of the fitness center, remarks will be offered by Chancellor Grossman, UMass Board of Trustees Vice Chair and UMass Dartmouth Alumna Maria Furman, Director of Athletics Amanda Van Voorhis, and UMass Dartmouth student Michael Thomas, a 4-year student-athlete and co-captain of the university's football team who also serves as the President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
Construction has been completed on the $5 million expansion and renovation of the fitness center. The project doubles the size of the very heavily used facility from 8,000 square feet to 16,000 square feet. The expansion houses brand new state of the art cardio equipment and the second floor multipurpose aerobics room. The renovated facility includes a free weight area and new varsity athlete lifting room. The expansion follows a locker and training room renovation to UMass Dartmouth's Tripp Athletic Center, which reconfigured the locker and training rooms to better accommodate university athletic teams, visiting teams, and referees, while also allowing for distinct locker rooms for women's athletic teams.
The opening of the new and revamped Fitness Center is part of a series of recent investments aimed at expanding opportunity for UMass Dartmouth students and faculty. Completed projects include the renovation of the Claire T. Carney Library, the Hall-Hildreth IDEAStudio, and the College of Nursing's Elisabeth A. Pennington Simulation Laboratory. The Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing is scheduled to open in the coming weeks. In October of this year, Governor Deval Patrick announced funding for a new academic building at UMass Dartmouth that will support the campus's growing enrollment. In addition, there are plans for expansion of the Charlton College of Business and the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST).
The UMass Dartmouth Tripp Athletic Center is located on the main campus (285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747). Parking is available for the Grand Opening in lots 7-11.