Villanova University to Transform Connelly Center, Enhancing Key Student Space at the Heart of Campus

VILLANOVA, Pa. (May 5, 2025) - Villanova will renovate and revitalize the Connelly Center, a student hub and central gathering space for the campus community for the past 45 years. The project will reinvigorate the building while maintaining its distinctive character. A gift from the Connelly Foundation originally funded the construction of the Connelly Center, which opened in 1980. The Foundation is now making a leadership gift to reimagine the building for today's student needs, donating $10 million toward the renovation cost, which brings the Connelly Foundation's total giving to Villanova to more than $44 million.

"Since its opening, the Connelly Center has been central to Villanova's student experience and campus life, and our goal with the renovation is to ensure that the Connelly Center remains a vibrant hub for our entire community," said University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD. "I want to express my deep gratitude to the Connelly Foundation for its continued generosity and dedication to this hallmark building on Villanova's campus."

Designed to enhance student dining, gathering and event spaces, and accessibility throughout the building, work on the Connelly Center will take place over the summer and be completed by Fall 2025. The revitalized spaces will include a Commons on the ground floor of the Connelly Center, named in honor of Emily C. Riley, executive vice president emerita for the Connelly Foundation and a former member of the Villanova University Board of Trustees.