History

The Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life (LBC) celebrated its grand opening in January 2007. An expansion on the original University Center built in 1959, the new LBC was made possible in part through a generous gift from the Lavin-Bernick family.

The LBC has 142,000 square feet, nearly 50 percent more space than the original University Center, and offers meeting rooms, a ballroom, lecture hall, bookstore, dining facilities, a common room and study area as well as a large porch overlooking the adjacent quad.  

Designed by Vincent James & Associates of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the LBC features environmentally friendly components such as water walls for cooling, windows to maximize natural illumination, and electric lights within the building which automatically adjust depending on the amount of outside light. Wave fans in the dining room, solar vents on the interior, and sun shading louvers on the exterior are other environmentally friendly features of the LBC.

The Malkin Sacks Commons celebrated its grand opening in Fall 2019. The 77,000 square foot facility was designed by New York-based firm Weiss/Manfredi and creates both a new dining facility for Tulane University as well as a consolidated setting for the Newcomb Institute. The Malkin Sacks Commons offers a state-of-the art dining facility, Newcomb Institute, conference rooms, event space, open-air courtyards, market, and more.