New Carney Family Auditorium Opens at UMass Amherst

Ceremony at the College of Education’s Furcolo Hall

*** MEDIA ADVISORY  ***

DATE:      Friday, Oct. 25, 2019
TIME:       Noon
WHAT:      Carney Family Auditorium Dedication
WHERE:   813 North Pleasant Street
                 Parking available in Lot 44
WHO:       UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy
                 and Dean of the College of Education Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin

AMHERST, Mass. – The new Carney Family Auditorium in Furcolo Hall at UMass Amherst will be officially unveiled to the public at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The renovation of the auditorium in the former Marks Meadow Elementary School was made possible thanks to the generous support of Paul Carney, UMass Class of 1982. The auditorium adds to the Carney family’s legacy at the College of Education, which also includes the Grace Norton Carney Scholarship named in honor of Paul’s mother who was an elementary school teacher in Massachusetts for 23 years.

The $2.5 million renovation to the auditorium transformed an inaccessible 1962 auditorium into a fully accessible 203-seat lecture hall. The height of the stage has been reduced to provide a more intimate teaching environment, and a new state-of-the-art audio-visual system will provide a variety of teaching options for professors, as well as accommodations for future student and community group use.

The new auditorium will enable the College of Education to host classes, speakers, and professional development workshops for in-service teachers, reinforcing the College’s reputation as a laboratory for experimentation, community engagement, and collaboration. The new entrance gives the facility a strong presence within Furcolo Hall and will increase student traffic to the building.