On Monday, a new admissions welcome center opened on the first floor of Manning Hall. The space — which previously housed the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology — will serve as a starting point for campus tours.
The Galen V. Henderson Admission Welcome Center’s construction was entirely donor-funded, according to a University press release. The donors opted to remain anonymous, according to University Spokesperson Brian Clark.
The center’s name is a tribute to Galen Henderson MD’93, a trustee and graduate of the Warren Alpert Medical School who died in 2023.
Henderson “really embodied genuine friendship and support,” Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission Logan Powell said. Henderson’s legacy is “really fitting of the spirit and the warmth” that Powell hopes the space will embody.
This addition to campus replaces the old welcome center in the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, which served just as a checkpoint to sign in for tours rather than a dedicated welcome area.
“We didn’t have dedicated room and seating areas for families who might be travelling here from across the country or from outside the United States,” Powell told The Herald.
Now, Powell hopes the new center will be “warm and welcoming to everyone who’s visiting Brown.”
Brianna Montecalvo, the senior assistant director of visit and events, said the Campus Center desk won’t be immediately altered, but noted that her team is hoping to find creative ways to repurpose the space.
The new space in Manning will also accommodate information sessions in the second-floor chapel twice per day. The presentations aim to give prospective students an opportunity to become familiar with Providence and College Hill, the location of their potential new home, according to University officials.
The center features a map of campus on the wall, interactive screens where families can explore Brown’s concentration options, an admissions-specific brochure collection and an informational photo display detailing the University’s history.
The center also includes unique architectural elements, including columns and walls made from a variety of materials and styles. It also features red brick — reminiscent of the Van Wickle Gates and residence halls — and wood paneling, mirroring the interior of the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts.
“The materials are … inspired by architectural styles that you’ll see when you take a campus tour,” Powell said. These details aim to add a sense of familiarity for visitors when they return to the center at the end of a tour.
After months of construction, the center opened to the public Monday. “Our first day went really smoothly,” said Eliza Etter, the director of communications and outreach for the Office of College Admission. “Visitors were able to sit down and wait and be welcomed by students and staff in a way that we weren’t able to do at the Campus Center.”
Montecalvo added that campus tour guides seem to be adapting well. “They’re taking a lot of pride in the space … and have a stronger sense of identity within their role now,” she noted.
Campus tour guide Tessa Rose Crowley ’26, who led one of the first tours out of the center on Monday, said that the new location offers “more of an approachable feel.”
“We’re not behind that giant wall of the initial Campus Center desk … which I think is making visitors feel like they can come up and speak to us,” Crowley added.
Millie Barter is a senior staff writer covering RISD.
