Great Big Schoolhouse

Rising soon is a four-story building for the Curry School of Education that will nearly double its breathing room.

Already christened Bavaro Hall, the building is slated for completion in 2010 at a projected cost of $37 million. Set between Ruffner Hall and Emmet Street and designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the new education building will feature multiple open conversation areas near faculty offices, conference rooms, a multipurpose space and a courtyard garden.

Among the guests joining President John Casteen and Curry Dean Robert Pianta at the Oct. 5 groundbreaking were Dan Meyers and members of the Bavaro family. Meyers, chair of the Curry Foundation and the school’s most generous donor, has given $23 million toward the building’s construction. The building is named for Meyers’ friend, Anthony D. “Wally” Bavaro, a professional football player who became a dedicated history teacher and coach in Massachusetts public schools.