The University has once again expanded its infrastructure, this time in a bigger and more elaborate display.  Holmes Hall is the new $50 million addition to the University’s campus. It will serve as a home to both the Freeman College of Management and the University’s Department of Art & Art History.

The new 79,500 square-foot building will provide spaces for students to collaborate and faculty to host meetings. Holmes hall contains an auditorium, studios for the Markets Innovation and Design program, an data analytics lab, and a 216-seat auditorium. 

It is named after Steve and Bonnie Holmes, both class of ‘79, for their significant commitments to the University.

“The world needs more broad thinkers, and I think Bucknell produces broad thinkers,” said Steve Holmes in the University’s press release last week. 

The facilities, which recently opened for the fall 2021 semester, have been touted by University administrators to inspire students to be engaged in their studies and cultivate a lifelong learning experience. Throughout the building, there is creative artwork displayed, as well as the Bloomberg Terminal which shows foreign exchange and commodities in real-time. 

“Bucknell’s rich mix of top liberal arts and professional programs prepares our students to lead lives filled with purpose and excel in the careers of today and tomorrow,” says University President John Bravman in a press release. “Holmes Hall is an expression of our institution’s distinctive prospect made tangible in brick, glass and steel.” 

As for the arts, there is an analog photography studio where students can study and develop film. Furthermore, there are innovative tools such as 3D printers and laser cutters for rapid prototyping.

“The interactive, accessible, experimental and participative teaching spaces will allow students to cooperate in the creation of knowledge by actively participating in the aesthetic process and the process of research alike,” said Tulu Bayar, chair of the Department of Art & Art History, in a press release. “But most importantly, the arts give language to young people who otherwise would not have language that speaks to life and life potentials. Should we subtract the arts from our culture, we would not have very much left at all. Holmes Hall is the visual manifestation of this fundamental thinking.” 

Students also seem to be impressed with the addition. 

“I am so thankful for the new addition of Holmes Hall to the Bucknell Campus,” said Rhett Robins, ‘23, who enjoys using Holmes Hall as a study place to collaborate with other students on campus. “I am eager and excited to utilize this space.”