Brown University Receives $24M Gift to Fund Friedman Hall

With a $24 million gift to fund the comprehensive renovation of the historic Wilson Hall, Brown University will transform one of its most heavily trafficked undergraduate academic buildings into a state-of-the-art facility for teaching and learning in the heart of its College Hill campus.

The gift from the Richard A. and Susan P. Friedman Family Foundation will launch a construction project that will preserve the historic exterior of the 1891 building but renovate the interior from the ground up. In recognition of the gift, the university will rename the building Friedman Hall upon the project’s completion.

With a new three-floor configuration, the building will include seven new classrooms with a mix of fixed and flexible seating configurations and cutting-edge technology, a common area for student activity and outside-the-classroom interactions and two entryways that will create new pathways to the College Green and Simmons Quadrangle. The renovation also will make the building fully accessible to individuals with disabilities.