The Campaign for the Williams Dining Hall
Blue Ridge School is setting forth on an ambitious plan: to build a new dining hall and a new library simultaneously. In recent years, the Board of Trustees determined that the current dining hall was quickly reaching the end of serviceable life. They determined, after detailed analysis and careful consideration, that the most viable option would be transforming the Hatcher Williams Library into a dining hall. This plan provides all of the necessary space and relocates the dining hall to a prominent location on campus without having to construct a new building or disrupt food service operation. Having raised the funds necessary for this project, construction will be completed in late 2021.
“In our all-boarding community, the dining hall serves as one place where everyone regularly comes together as a family. It is arguably the most important place on campus.”
The food service operation is a critical component of campus life for several reasons. First—and to no one’s surprise—the quality and quantity of food is of the utmost importance for growing teenage boys. They need well-balanced and healthy options to fuel their bodies so they can perform well in the classroom, on the athletic fields, and in other demanding co-curricular activities that are the fabric of daily life at Blue Ridge School.
In addition to the practical value of a nutritional program for the boys, the dining hall plays another important role in community life at Blue Ridge School. This dining hall will preserve Blue Ridge’s tradition of family-style dining, where students and faculty eat together, allowing the boys to develop deeper relationships and reinforce a sense of community through shared meals.
In today’s highly competitive boarding school marketplace, a state-of-the-art dining facility with great variety and quality is also a critical admissions tool. One of the first questions prospective families often ask is about the quality of the food service and the dining hall. A modern facility will undoubtedly help Blue Ridge School continue to attract outstanding boys from across the United States and around the world.
For more information about the Williams Dining Hall project, contact Associate Headmaster for External Relations Franklin Daniels at 434-992-0503 or by email.
“Gathering in the dining hall, with students, faculty, staff, and their families was a significant part of my experience at Blue Ridge. It is exciting to see how the School is continuing to advance, yet remaining true to its character and mission.”
