Bavaro Hall Groundbreaking Celebration

Curry School students, faculty, and staff joined the Curry School Foundation Board and a number of U.Va. dignitaries to celebrate the groundbreaking for Bavaro Hall on October 5, 2007.

Bavaro Hall “will enable the Curry School to further its programs and strengthen its influence on education in the 21st century,” said President John T. Casteen III before inviting event participants to grab a ceremonial groundbreaking shovel and turn a scoop of earth.

The new four-story building will nearly double the space currently available to the Curry School for its diverse array of academic, research and clinical programs. Casteen called the building “absolutely essential” to the school and beneficial to the entire University.

Curry School Dean Robert C. Pianta said the new building signals an exciting new era for the Curry School, which he said is undergoing a transformation.

“Bavaro Hall will stand out as a beautiful, comfortable work space we can all be proud of — one that befits a school of education nationally known for its standards of excellence and impact,” he said.

The building is slated for completion in 2010 and is projected to cost $37 million. Located in the space between Ruffner Hall and Emmet Street, Bavaro Hall will offer an immediate, visible and dramatic improvement in the ability of Curry faculty members to collaborate on projects and interact with students. Faculty members and students presently are scattered in several other locations off-Grounds, in addition to Ruffner Hall.

Among the guests taking up shovels at the ceremony were Dan Meyers and members of the Bavaro family. Meyers, chair of the Curry Foundation and the school’s most generous donor, has given $23 million toward the building’s construction. The building is named for Meyers’ friend, Anthony D. “Wally” Bavaro, who played professional football, then became a dedicated history teacher and coach in Massachusetts public schools. 

After the groundbreaking, the Curry School Foundation, chaired by Meyers, hosted a picnic for the Curry community.

The Foundation still needs to raise $500,000 to fully fund building construction. Naming opportunities remain available for areas within Bavaro Hall. Learn more.