Thanks to a record-breaking donation, the University broke ground Friday on the construction of Bavaro Hall, a new Education School building.
The majority of funding for the $37 million project comes from a donation from Curry Foundation Chair Dan Meyers.
According to ceremony speakers University President John T. Casteen, III and Education School Dean Robert Pianta, Meyers' commitment of $23 million constitutes the largest gift the Education School has ever received and also represents the second-largest gift ever given to an American education school.
Casteen said the construction represents a new phase in the life of the Education School, noting that the ground-breaking ceremony was "similar to welcoming a child into the world."
Bavaro Hall -- named after Massachusetts public school teacher Anthony D. "Wally" Bavaro, a close friend of Meyers' father -- will nearly double the Education School's space and will give faculty and students more room to collaborate, according to Casteen.
"We don't build for short-term here," Casteen said.
Pianta said Ruffner Hall, the Education School's current home, was not designed to promote a sense of community, adding that Bavaro Hall will help facilitate relationships.
"It will increase opportunities for interaction," Pianta said, adding that he believes the new building will make the Education School "look and feel like a new breed of education schools."
Meyers also noted the lack of community, noting that half of the Education School's physical space is currently scattered across Charlottesville.
"The issue is not that we don't think [Ruffner] is not fancy enough," Meyers said. "We can't get the full potential of the school until we get that community."
Pianta added that Bavaro Hall will help the Education School become more research-intensive, collaborate more with other schools within the University and recruit new faculty members.
Bavaro's widow, Christine Bavaro, was present at the ceremony and expressed her family's astonishment by the dedication of the building's name to her husband.
"It's beyond our comprehension that anyone would do this, especially for a teacher," Christine Bavaro said. "Teachers are the fundamental building blocks of our country, and hopefully they will be regarded as such."
Meyers said Bavaro, who was a professional football player, gave up other opportunities to pursue a teaching career.
"Wally Bavaro, with all of his professional options, decided to be an inner-city teacher and coach," Meyers said. "He made a profound impact on those he taught. Even when they tried to promote him to principal, he wouldn't let them."
Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the firm that designed the Darden School, will design Bavaro Hall, which is scheduled to be completed in 2010. The building will be located next to Ruffner Hall at 405 Emmet St., and, according to Pianta, will be a "beautiful, comfortable workspace we can be proud of"
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