Stern Center Renovation

Stern Student Center 2.0

Throughout its 50-year history, the Stern Student Center has been the community hub for socializing, studying, hanging out and even swimming and diving.

In 2024, the building entered its next phase. While still inspiring timeless tradition and lasting memories, the Stern Student Center is being refreshed and reimagined as a community space for students.

In 2027, the newly-renovated Stern Student Center will reopen and feature the following amenities:

  • First Floor will include a welcome/reception area, dining options and seating, a multipurpose room with a stage, and the home to the Cougar Pantry.
  • Second Floor will house student collaboration areas, including student organization offices, open meeting/lounge spaces as well as an e-sports room.
  • Third Floor is the home for the new Fitness Center, which will feature exercise machines, workout studios and locker rooms.
  • Fourth Floor will include administrative offices as well as the home office of the Office of Student Wellness & Well-being and a large multipurpose room.

Visit the Stern Center Room Reservation Request site to read more about the spring 2027 semester opening hours and how and when to begin placing a reservation for rooms in the venue.

 

Give to the Stern Center Project

Renovate, Refresh & Reimagine.

 
 

Welcome to a new Stern Student Center. Be part of the transformation and consider how you can support the Stern Student Center Renovation Project.

The Stern Center is a nurturing space urging students to gather and to lead, or to weather the storm, and build paths forward in academics and in life.

Laura T. Ricciardelli, JD, MBA, College of Charleston Foundation Board Member, Student Affairs

Stern Traditions & Memories

Lasting Images: From 1974 to 1987 to 2024, the Stern Student Center has served as a hub of student activity.
Composite image of the front of the Stern Center in 2024 and an inset image from 1987.
Continuing Traditions: The Stern Student Center provided an iconic backdrop for commencement day selfies and graduation ceremonies.
A College of Charleston graduate stops for a selfie with family members outside the Stern Center
Last Splash: Consider yourself lucky if you took a dip in the Stern Center pool. The pool (and resources) sadly dried up in 2015 and won't be part of the renovation.
Composit photo of the abandoned Stern swimming pool from 2024 and an older photo when the pool was still in use.
Studying at Stern: You could always find a space for solitude and study at Stern. At least until your friends arrived.
Composite image of a female studying in the Stern Center with an inset of a archive, black and white image of a student studying at Stern decades earlier.
Stern Showcase: In the courtyard or on the balcony, the Stern Student Center provided a showcase for our talents and provided inspiration for future artists.
A composite image of a student playing electric guitar in the Stern sourtyard with an inset black and white photo of a student playing acoustic guitar on the Stern balcony.
 
 

Before the building undergoes its reimagining, look back at a half-century of Stern Student Center memories and traditions. (Archive images courtesy of Lowcountry Digital Library, College of Charleston Libraries.)