Providence Hall Opens Its Doors, Giving Widener Room to Grow

Widener recently celebrated the opening of Providence Hall – its newest residence hall – with an open house that allowed students who live there to show off their new home away from home.

“I enjoy being in this building. I love all of the things that come with it,” senior Shyann Davis, a business management major and a resident advisor, said. “I love my space, and all of my residents are so kind and so welcoming.” 

The university acquired the building, which previously had operated on the edge of campus as a Best Western hotel, over the summer. Now a part of campus, it has 75 residents and room to provide future housing for a total of 120 students. 

President Stacey Robertson attended the event and praised for the workers who reinvented the space with new flooring, paint, lighting, furniture and more in just a few short weeks. 

“They did a phenomenal job,” she said, crediting the way facilities and the Division of Student Engagement and Transformation partnered productively under a challenging time frame. “What I love is the collaboration of these two units, coming together and working together to make this moment.”

Robertson also highlighted Providence Hall as an example of Widener’s commitment to the student experience and to ensuring students thrive in and out of the classroom. The university’s goal is to provide housing to any student who wants it, mindful that living on campus is linked to greater student success and on-time graduation. 

“When we have so many wonderful students living on this campus our community is enriched. We have more excitement, more energy, more positivity, which is exactly what we want,” she said.

Robertson noted Widener has experienced strong incoming-student enrollment over the past four years, at a time when many other institutions have not. The need for an additional residence hall and the university’s ability to address the need quickly were cause for applause.

“This building represents so much more than a residence hall. To me, Providence Hall represents Widener’s success and our future which is incredibly bright,” she said. 

The open house included tours of building lounges, laundry facilities with all new machines available to residents at no cost, grab-and-go food options and, of course, residential spaces. Most of the building’s rooms are double occupancy with private bathrooms.

Steven Jubert, associate vice president and associate dean for Student Living, Learning and Engagement emceed the open house and encouraged everyone to take tours, including curious students who don’t live in Providence Hall but might consider it for the future.

“This is a new home away from home for our students. We say to you all, welcome home,” Jubert said.