As students return to University of the Pacific for a new academic year, nearly 400 students will be living in a new residence hall, thoughtfully designed to match the historic look of campus while providing students with a modern, 21st century living-learning community.

The first students began moving into Southwest Hall over the weekend, a few days after a ribbon-cutting was held to celebrate its opening, where hundreds of students, faculty, staff and alumni—including many who used to live in the former Southwest Hall—gathered to take tours of the space.

The three-story building has 386 beds, 12 study spaces, lounge rooms and an interior courtyard. It will also house two faculty and a staff member to support students.

The newly constructed building is located on the site of the original Southwest Hall, built a century ago. Preserving the history of the beloved building was no small undertaking. The new residence hall was carefully designed to honor the building’s past while creating a space designed around students’ needs. 

“We could not salvage the original building,” President Christopher Callahan said during the ribbon cutting. “It was more than 100 years old and was three different buildings cobbled together. But what we wanted to do was pay homage to our history of this great Southwest Hall, and at the same time, build a 21st century living learning community for our students.

“I think you will see we accomplished both. On the outside, you will see the collegiate Gothic architecture that is such a distinctive attribute of our history at Pacific, right down to the bricks,” he said, detailing how Vice President for Student Life Maria Blandizzi went to great lengths to match the bricks to the original facade to preserve the spirit of the former Southwest.

Many esteemed leaders attended the ceremony, including members of Pacific’s Board of Regents and California State Treasurer Fiona Ma.

“This is an example of an amazing public-private partnership,” said Ma, who helped Pacific obtain a conduit bond through the California Education Finance Authority to finance the project. “I'm very honored on behalf of the state of California to be here and to see this new home in this amazing place.”

Khalik Len ’29 will be a resident assistant in the new building.

“This residence hall means to me new beginnings,” Len said. “It's a space that we can call our own and call home. It’s a place that we can feel comfortable to build community and connection.

Southwest is also equipped with a community courtyard so that students can socialize in outdoor spaces that are still within the residential community. 

The new building includes three suites with full kitchens and living areas providing housing for in-residence faculty and staff, helping to bridge the gap between students’ academic and social lives. 

“Being in residence and being on campus means being engaged,” said Director of First Year Experience Jeffery Hole. “It means being aware of what's going on within our students' lives and creating the right environments and experiences for them to succeed. 

“Some of the most meaningful connections we make with students don't necessarily happen in the class; they happen over a meal, in a hallway, at an event, during a chance conversation, or sometimes simply by being present in that community…Sometimes a five-minute conversation with a professor can matter just as much or more than a two-hour class,” he said.

Students were heavily consulted and involved in the design of the newly imagined Southwest Hall. 

“The opening of this building is monumental,” said Assistant Vice President for Student Life Josh O’Connor. “It's going to change the way we house our students on campus. Old Southwest was a gorgeous, beautiful, historic building. However, it didn't meet the needs of our individual students.”

Blandizzi and O’Connor conducted focus groups with students to identify what they’d like to see in the new building. Students had four major requests that were incorporated into the final design:

• Power available to charge 10 to 15 devices 
• Large, open, accessible windows for fresh air and natural light
• Control over lighting and dimmers
• Control over heating and cooling

The amenities were added with a sustainability focus. The building meets LEED gold certification, a designation that identifies buildings as energy efficient and sustainable. In addition to energy efficient lighting, compost bins and other elements, there is a large interior storage room for students’ bicycles.

“Our students are committed to sustainability, and this building lives in alignment with that,” Blandizzi said. “We're excited to welcome students back to live in this space and to see the community that will grow and the leaders that will blossom from this space. 100 years from now, we can all be standing here reflecting back on what this community and this building brought to life in their lives.” 

Donors were able to leave a lasting mark in the form of an engraved brick in the new Southwest Hall courtyard. Designed as a space for reflection, connection and growth for generations of Tigers, the courtyard offers alumni and friends a meaningful way to commemorate their Pacific experience, celebrate a class year, honor a mentor or faculty member, remember a loved one or share a message of gratitude.

As a special thank-you, each brick donor will also get a piece of the old Southwest Hall. “Legacy bricks” salvaged from the historic building will be available for pickup during Homecoming and Family Weekend Oct. 9-11, 2026.

Additional naming opportunities are still available inside Southwest.

To learn more, contact Scott Biedermann ’05, ’20, vice president for development and alumni relations, at 209.946.2166 or sbiedermann@pacific.edu.