The Woodman Center Ushers in New Era for Moses Brown

When Moses Brown opened its new 36,000 square food Woodman Family Community and Performance Center, it was a full circle kind of occasion. Dean Woodman, who graduated from Moses Brown in 1946, gave $8 million to the school for the new building, the largest donation in its 233 year history. He is also the great grandson of Augustine Jones, headmaster of Moses Brown in the late 1800s and the one who brought music and the arts into the school’s curriculum. Now students have a thoroughly modern multimedia center to continue that arts tradition.

The Center will replace Alumni Hall as the heart of the school’s music and arts programs, complete with a state of the art auditorium and gallery spaces. The auditorium features customizable seating for up to 500 and acoustic paneling with interchangeable hard and soft surfaces that can be manipulated to effectively tune the room.

“The acoustics are out of this world,” says Adam Olenn, the school’s Director of Communications. He goes on to explain that the auditorium will be used for everything from performances and lectures to the school’s regular Quaker meetings, allowing for optimal sound and line of sight, and seating for any needs. Additionally, the Woodman Center has a cafe and meeting spaces available to both students and faculty. The hallways will serve as gallery space, giving the school a permanent exhibit space for its students for the first time. It also served as a catalyst for a number of improvement projects on campus, including updates to several of the school’s athletic facilities to accommodate the Center’s footprint. A brand new heating system for the campus, located in the Woodman Center basement was also part of the project, which in total cost $25.4 million.

But it is the hope of the school that the uses for the Center extend far beyond those of its students. “Community is first in [the Center’s] title,” says Olenn. “It’s a public declaration of our intent for the facility. It’s for Providence and Rhode Island, not just Moses Brown.” As Olenn explains, the school is hoping that this new center will contribute to the artistic and intellectual culture of the city. Olenn imagines the Center hosting film screenings and Q&As with directors, or community debates and discussions on topics like social justice.

“If we can be a host-site for the community to really engage with issues and have substantive debate, that’s good for all of us and it’s on mission for Moses Brown,” he says. Making this facility part of the cultural life of Providence is a way that MB can live its values.” 250 Lloyd Avenue, Providence. 831-7350