Roanoke College cut the ribbon on a brand-new science building this week, dedicating the $60 million Shaun McConnon Discovery Center in a Thursday ceremony that capped years of fundraising and construction. The 32,000-square-foot facility, built to replace the old Massengill Auditorium, is now open on the Salem, Virginia campus and will touch nearly every student who walks through it — science major or not.
Roanoke College celebrated the new STEM facility with a dedication ceremony on Thursday, as reported by WDBJ7. The project drew support from more than 1,000 donors who pledged or gave a combined $60 million, according to Roanoke College. Roanoke College dedicated the facility as a state-of-the-art STEM building, according to WSLS 10.
A Record Gift Puts a Name on the Building
The building's name comes from alumnus Shaun McConnon, class of 1966, whose contribution anchored the entire campaign. He kicked off the fundraising effort in 2021 with an initial $15 million donation, the college says. An additional $5 million brought his total support of the project to $20 million, which is what ultimately put his name on the center.
WDBJ7's report on the dedication described that $20 million gift as the largest single donation in Roanoke College history. Not every major donor wanted the same kind of recognition, though: John and Linda Snyder gave $5 million to the project but chose instead to honor biology professor emeritus Bob Jenkins, rather than attach their own names to any part of the facility, per the college's account of the gift.
Labs, Rooftop Terrace and a Green Roof
Inside, the Discovery Center is stocked with teaching labs, classrooms and collaboration spaces, the college notes, along with modern anatomy, physiology, chemistry and biology labs and an expansive engineering lab built to handle large-scale experiments. A rooftop terrace doubles as an outdoor classroom and study space, and the building includes solar panels and a green roof — design elements architecture firm VMDO Architects says were meant to emphasize natural light, energy efficiency and flexible lab spaces. VMDO is leading the design of the center, which the firm describes as a light-filled bridge connecting the existing Life Science and Trexler halls where Massengill Auditorium once stood.
The facility is expected to earn LEED Silver certification. VMDO's description of the project notes the center was built to advance the study of biology, chemistry, environmental science, physics and engineering, with technology-rich fabrication and visualization labs supporting that work.
Built for Every Student, Not Just Science Majors
Roanoke College says all students, regardless of major, will take at least one class inside the McConnon Center. That reach is by design: the college's groundbreaking announcement for the broader Science Center project said the facility was meant to serve some of Roanoke's most popular majors and house one-third of all campus courses, with more than half of all student research projects expected to happen there.
College president Frank Shushok Jr. said the center's modern spaces support discovery, research and interdisciplinary learning and will help equip graduates for an evolving global landscape. Karin Saoub, dean of the School of Health, Science, and Sustainability, echoed that framing in comments to WDBJ7, saying students are working with brand new facilities and brand new equipment that really is the forefront of science. Saoub added that the center will be transformative for every student and will help prepare future scientists, engineers, healthcare professionals and innovators to make a lasting impact.
Part of a Larger, Phased Project
The Discovery Center is only the first piece of a bigger plan. Roanoke College's original groundbreaking materials described the initial phase as a $30 million facility, with future phases calling for major renovations to the neighboring Life Science and Trexler Hall buildings. The college has not detailed a timeline for when that next phase might begin.
Roanoke's build arrives amid a broader wave of STEM investment at Virginia colleges. Virginia Commonwealth University's College of Humanities and Sciences has announced plans for its own $121 million, 169,000-square-foot STEM building spanning six floors, according to VCU College of Humanities & Sciences. For now, the McConnon Discovery Center stands as Roanoke College's biggest single bet yet on hands-on science education, built, students will find, into classes they take whether or not they ever intended to set foot in a lab.
