Briar Cliff University Media Announcement

SIOUX CITY – Briar Cliff University today formally broke ground for a $10.75 million addition and renovation of Heelan Hall. Today’s ceremony marks the official start of construction for the project, which is slated for completion in September 2013.

The transformation of Heelan Hall, the first building to be constructed on campus in 1930, will involve the addition of a three-floor wing with state-of-the-art science laboratories, a business case room and general classrooms.

Heelan Hall will be the home of new and inviting spaces conducive to learning and gathering, including a four-story atrium with clerestory windows on the top floor, bringing in natural light from the North.

The project also will include new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems along with renovation of various classrooms and labs in the existing structure.

Speakers at the groundbreaking were Beverly A. Wharton, president, Briar Cliff University; Dr. William T. Mangan, vice president for Academic Affairs; and Bert Bucher, president, Student Government, of Plankinton, S.D.

“As we pursue our vision for Briar Cliff to support the learner of tomorrow in a culture of excellence, we will be transforming Heelan Hall to create a more dynamic Briar Cliff University experience,” said President Wharton. “Heelan Hall has served thousands of students for over 81 years. With these enhancements, it will continue that tradition for many years to come.”

Other participants in the event were John Gleeson, managing member, W.A. Klinger, LLC; Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless, Bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City; Sister Janet May OSF, director of Campus Ministry; Regina Roth, vice president and treasurer, Beef Products, Inc. and BCU Board of Trustee emerita; and Sister Grace Ann Witte OSF, associate professor of sociology and criminal justice.

The event also featured the Briar Cliff Choirs, a time capsule prepared by Briar Cliff Student Government and a reception following the groundbreaking ceremony in the Java City Coffee Shoppe in Bishop Mueller Library on campus.

Today’s announcement on the transformation of Heelan Hall, the centerpiece of the Briar Cliff campus, comes on the heels of the distribution of Apple iPad 2 tablet computers to all BCU freshmen, making it a banner first week for the 2011-12 academic year.

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic institution with an enrollment of more than 1,150 students from the United States and around the world. Students are educated in the Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and career preparation in an environment of care, compassion and service. For more information, please visit www.briarcliff.edu.