FAU Breaks Ground on Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building -- Spaces4Learning

Higher Ed

FAU Breaks Ground on Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building

By Matt Jones
11/09/23

Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla., recently broke ground on a new facility for the College of Arts and Letters, according to local news. Construction on the Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building will begin in early 2024 and is scheduled for completion in February 2025. The building was included as a university priority in the 2021 Boca Raton Campus Master Plan.

The university partnered with Synalovski Romanik Saye, LLC, for the building’s design and Gilbane Building Company for construction. The building will stand two stories and cover about 23,557 square feet. The building will have a capacity of about 380 stations, including academic and administrative areas. It will feature basic academic amenities like a 150-seat lecture hall, classrooms, conference room, computer lab, recording studio, and faculty offices, according to Michael Horswell, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters.

It will also feature “a Holocaust and human rights professional development training room, a traveling exhibition room, a student multimedia studio and a student study room. The lobby will also have a digital Wall of Recognition and Remembrance meant to ‘acknowledge the support of benefactors and to educate against hate, antisemitism and indifference,’ said Horswell,” according to FAU student publication University Press.

The building will play home to classes in subjects like human rights, justice, peace, Holocaust education, women’s studies, and more. The university website reports that it will also serve as a hub for human rights education and leadership training.

“Liberal arts education helps you to answer difficult questions,” said Alan Berger, Raddock Family eminent Scholar Chair of Holocaust Studies and Judaic Studies professor. “Jewish studies gives us more insight into the human. [The goal is for] the world of the future to be better than the world of the past.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

E-Mail this page

Printable Format

Featured

Designing for Engineering Excellence: Integrating Sustainability and Wellness at UNLs Kiewit Hall

Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exemplifies how academic institutions can integrate sustainability and wellness into modern learning environments. With an integrated and collaborative team approach, Kiewit Hall addresses enhanced learning and creativity, physical health, and mental wellness, and fosters a sense of community through innovative design, operations, and policy solutions.
UNT Dallas Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for $100M STEM Building

The University of North Texas at Dallas in Dallas, Texas, recently celebrated the opening of its new, $100-million STEM Building, according to local news. The ceremony on Dec. 2 preceded the first day of classes in the facility on Jan. 12, 2026.
Construction Begins on East Austin CTE-Focused High School

The Del Valle Independent School District recently announced that construction has begun on a new CTE-focused high school in Austin, Texas, according to a news release. Del Valle High School will measure in at 473,338 square feet and have the capacity for 2,400 students.
Call for Opinions: Spaces4Learning 2026 Predictions for Educational Facilities

As 2025 winds to a close, the Spaces4Learning staff is asking its readers—school administrators, architects, engineers, facilities managers, builders, superintendents, designers, vendors, and more—to send us their predictions for educational facilities in 2026.