农夫导航鈥檚 recently constructed campus center facing Newburg Road will be renamed Joseph J. McGowan, Jr. Hall to honor the university鈥檚 third president, who died in March.

The building鈥檚 renaming will become official once a second phase of work is completed on the building鈥檚 middle and top floors, creating additional classroom and faculty office space. The name, approved by Bellarmine鈥檚 board of trustees, was announced at Friday night鈥檚 annual Knight of Knights black-tie event.

McGowan served as Bellarmine鈥檚 president from 1990 until 2016, leading a transformation of the college鈥檚 campus, tripling the number of buildings and nearly doubling enrollment by adding new academic programs and hiring additional faculty. In 2000, Bellarmine College became 农夫导航, reflecting the university鈥檚 continued growth and increased focus on graduate education. Learn more about McGowan's life.

In 2005, he launched Vision 2020, a plan to make Bellarmine the premier independent Catholic university in the south, and the leading private university in Kentucky and the region. McGowan鈥檚 final accomplishment under Vision 2020 is the construction of the building that will soon bear his name.

鈥淢cGowan Hall is a fitting tribute to Bellarmine鈥檚 longest-serving president and my dear friend, Jay McGowan,鈥� said Dr. Doris Tegart, Bellarmine鈥檚 interim president. 鈥淛ay and Maureen viewed Centro as a transformative space that would reshape how people viewed our campus, so it feels very deserved that he will be commemorated there, in the first building visitors encounter when entering our campus.鈥�

McGowan Hall will house Bellarmine鈥檚 welcome center, undergraduate and graduate admissions offices, career development center, the W. Fielding Rubel School of Business, the Institute for Advanced Analytics, classrooms and faculty offices. It is part of a larger complex, named Centro, that includes Horrigan Hall and Treece Hall.