The University celebrated the renovated Churchill House, home to the Department of Africana Studies and Rites and Reason Theatre, at a dedication ceremony during Black Alumni Reunion Friday evening.
The renovation, a $20 million project that started in July 2022, added 3,000 square feet of space and several accessibility and modernization updates, The Herald previously reported. Faculty and staff who temporarily relocated to Andrews House during construction returned to Churchill this fall. The next day, the University held an open house for the building, inviting community members and reunion attendees to explore the new space.
The dedication ceremony was one of the first events of last weekend’s Black Alumni Reunion, which featured a series of panels, exhibitions and events related to Black identity, community, experiences and individuals at Brown. This year’s Black Alumni Reunion was the first since 2018.
Professor of Africana Studies Noliwe Rooks, who chairs the department, said in a Sunday press release that the renovations promote community building.
“How do we bring people into the building who otherwise don’t have a reason to come in? How can we give existing community members a way to find and connect with each other outside of private offices?” Rooks said in the press release. “How can we host events that communicate to people, ‘There’s something interesting here; you might want to stop by more often and see what we have going on’?”
Accessibility features in the renovated building include an entrance ramp on Angell Street and fully accessible bathrooms, according to the press release.
Rooks told The Herald earlier this month that the renovation was designed by the New York architecture firm Marble Fairbanks. As far as renovations go, “people have been asking for them for years,” Rooks said.
The dedication ceremony included remarks by Rooks and President Christina H. Paxson P’19 P’MD’20, who said the updated building “lives up to the past and future of a great institution” at the dedication ceremony.
“We’re celebrating the expansion of the intellectual footprint of Africana Studies,” Paxson said at the ceremony, according to the press release, “and all of the people who have contributed so much to the important work of the past — and will continue to do so in Churchill House.”
Neil Mehta is the editor-in-chief and president of the Brown Daily Herald's 134th editorial board. They study public health and statistics at Brown. Outside the office, you can find Neil baking and playing Tetris.
