Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown
Consists of a new section, completed in 1968, and an old section originally built in 1935 and know as Faculty Center (cost $178,721; 38,965 sq.ft.; mainly used as faculty apartments and public dining room until closed in Spring 1965 for renovation into a wing of the Continuing Education Center. Construction on new center begun 1965; opened Jan 2, 1968; dedicated May 13, 1968. Cost $1,806,703; contains 73,954 sq.ft. Contains 622-seat auditorium, 500 capacity dining room, seven 60-seat conference rooms, 123 double bedrooms, 18 single bedrooms. After The Inn at Virginia Tech opened, the building was again renovated to provide office space for the Graduate School plus housing for graduate students.
Frank Donaldson Brown
Frank Donaldson Brown (1885-1965), member of the Class of 1902, was probably Virginia Tech's youngest graduate at age 17. Brown held executive positions at E. I. duPont de Nemours, where he helped the company diversify into the chemical field, and at General Motors Corporation. A creative thinker, he developed principles that modernized corporate management. The generous alumnus chaired Virginia Tech's first Alumni Fund and received one of the first honorary VPI Citations.
Address: Otey Street | Map Grid: O-5
Originally Built: | Abbreviation: ALUM