On April 8, 2008, members of The College of New Rochelle Community joined President Stephen J. Sweeny and Board Chair Michael N. Ambler at a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the College’s new $28 million Wellness Center. The official dedication of The Wellness Center will take place on April 24.

The first new building on the New Rochelle Campus in almost 50 years, The Wellness Center includes a state-of-the-art fitness center, a gymnasium equipped with arena-style bleachers, competition-size basketball and volleyball courts, an interior running track suspended above the gym floor and a six-lane NCAA competition swimming pool. In addition to multi-media “smart” classrooms, faculty offices and space for conferences and seminars, other highlights include a meditation room and contemplation roof garden.

“With the construction of the Wellness Center, we have once again refined our educational vision by looking toward our strengths to create a new way of teaching and learning about health and wellness,” says President Sweeny. “The College has reframed our approach to health and well-being, bringing that knowledge to our students and the greater community.”

Primary building materials of granite, bluestone trim and 30 different styles and colors of glass were chosen to complement the primarily collegiate gothic architecture of the rest of the Campus. The ecological design of the building as a metaphor for wellness will be eligible for certification by the U.S. Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System®.