Southern Management Corporation Campus Center is Officially Open

New campus “town square” opens, offers many new services.

By Ed Fishel
September 17, 2009

The long-awaited new Southern Management Corporation (SMC) Campus Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) was officially opened on Sept. 16.

Its mission is to be the campus town square, fostering collaboration, encouraging health and wellness, housing student organizations and services, providing recreation and relaxation and offering outstanding food and dining venues.

The five-story building at 621 W. Lombard St. bears the name Southern Management Corporation Campus Center, thanks to the efforts of Southern Management CEO David Hillman and his wife, Suzanne. Their $5 million transformational gift is the largest donation ever from a trustee in the history of the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc. (UMBF) Board of Trustees.

The light-filled structure features an array of dining, meeting, and conference options and an upgraded fitness facility, including a recreational swimming pool and sauna on the fourth floor, among many other amenities.

“With the SMC Campus Center’s wealth of recreational, educational, and programmatic opportunities, the UMB community for the first time has one central location to come together to share knowledge and ideas in an interdisciplinary commingling that is both enriching and enjoyable,” says UMB President David J. Ramsay, DM, DPhil.

Richard Himelfarb, JD, past chair of the UMBF Board of Trustees, agrees. “The Center is a perfect symbol of the collaborative nature of UMB and enhances the lives of each student here,” he says, “by providing an environment that will be the conduit for reflective minds to share ideas and network.”

According to Malinda B. Orlin, PhD, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School, “We expect the SMC Campus Center to become the campus’s ‘town square,’ a place to foster exchange and collaboration among its visitors as well as to encourage leadership development, learning, and wellness.

“At present, our students receive great support from their individual schools, but tend to identify primarily with their school rather than with the University as a whole. The SMC Campus Center has the potential to become a wonderful ‘second home’ for all of our students.”

Evan Cordes, president of the University Student Government Association, said, “The new SMC Campus Center will finally give students a unique school-wide gathering place,” he says. “This means that for the first time ever, our University will no longer be divided by schools: dentistry, grad, law, med, nursing, pharmacy, social work, etc., but rather united as the ‘University’ of Maryland community.”

The building is physically connected to the Health Sciences and Human Services Library, which offers more than 40 collaborative study rooms; the School of Nursing, with its 400-plus-seat auditorium; and the Pratt Street Garage, which offers parking and newly renovated gymnasium space.

The layout of the SMC Campus Center promotes collaboration for meetings and activities by the campus’s diverse array of student organizations. Also available is information on intramural recreational programs offered either onsite or at fields and golf courses in the metro area.

The SMC Campus Center offers many more programs to help nearly 6,000 academically focused students manage their complicated lives. Topics include financial and time management, stress reduction, and nutrition counseling.

“We want this building to be a model for healthy living, a place where students can swim a few laps or take a yoga class,” Orlin says. “After a workout, they can pick up a healthy snack or meal, relax in one of the lounges or go next door to study at the Health Sciences and Human Services Library.”