Sister Thea Bowman Hall, the first sustainable residence hall to be built on Saint Joseph’s University’s campus, opened in August 2025 and provides housing for first-year students. It is six stories tall with five residential floors and a stone façade that more than 100 stonemasons worked by hand in order to match the traditional Collegiate Gothic style architecture of Barbelin Hall, the university’s landmark building.
Sister Thea Bowman Hall houses more than 578 first-year students. Most of the residential rooms are doubles (two-person rooms), but each floor also has a few single rooms for resident assistants (RAs). Each room has its own heating and cooling unit, and each floor has two women’s restrooms, two men’s restrooms, and one all-gender restroom. Five lounges and three study rooms provide meeting and socializing spaces on every residential floor. Eligible students can also live in the Health Professions Residential Learning Community or the McConnell Scholars community within the hall.
On the first floor are laundry facilities, a community kitchen, and lounge, as well as support services and health and well-being resources housed in the hall along with the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and the Office of Residence Life.
The sustainability features of the new hall support both the health of students and of campus systems. Geothermal wells provide energy for heating and cooling, a solar system helps power the building and saves energy costs, and the bioretention basin and underground stormwater retention systems help manage stormwater runoff and improve water quality. The university also partnered with a local nonprofit to turn the trees removed from the area for the renovation into furniture and other accents used within the building. They then planted 434 new trees to further offset the impact of construction and create more green space. The university is pursuing LEED certification for all features.
“Sister Thea Bowman Hall was intentionally designed to bring students together through the variety of common spaces throughout the building,” says Max Shirey, assistant director of residence life. “The flexible lounges, study spaces, and gathering areas have been utilized heavily by students to collaborate on group projects and hang out with friends and by RAs for programs and events. It has been such a joy watching these spaces come to life and to see students enjoy them throughout the year!”
Jessica Moran-Buckridge, assistant vice president of student life and associate dean of students, and Kelly Bersett, director of residence life, agree that the new hall’s design will bring the student community together and they look forward to many years of students benefiting from the engagement opportunities that the hall will create. As Buckridge explains, “The new building improves housing opportunities and experiences for first-year students and provides industry-leading housing options on campus.” Bersett adds, “On a campus of older residential buildings, Sister Thea Bowman Hall offers modern features supporting a variety of accessibility needs across our diverse community while maintaining a comfortable and warm environment for all to feel at home.”
Sister Thea Bowman, the hall’s namesake, was an educator, evangelist, and social justice advocate. She used her talents to support the ministry of the Catholic Church in the Black community and founded the National Black Sisters’ Conference after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. —Camille Perlman
Spotlight is your chance to show off recent construction or renovation projects. Member institutions and architects are encouraged to share details about hall features, related programs, and how they connect to the overall housing mission, as well as photographs of the completed building. Share your success stories.
