Marguerite Wattis Petersen Academic Center Photo by Fielding Cathcart

The ultimate goal of Wolf Pack student-athletes is graduation, and Nevada’s student-athletes now have one of the finest facilities to pursue their academic goals in the Marguerite Wattis Petersen Academic Center.

The state-of-the-art facility opened in the spring of 2008 and was built by the PENTA Group. The 8,000-square foot building is home to Nevada’s athletics academic advising department. Standing between the Nancy and Robert Cashell Football Center and Legacy Hall, It features a computer center with 36 computers and two laser printers, seven individual tutor rooms, advisor offices and a large atrium for group study and meetings.

The Petersen Academic Center is open the following hours: Monday-Thursday 8 am - 8 pm Friday 8 am - 5 pm Sunday 4 pm - 8 pm

“We have fine competition and practice facilities for more of our sports, but what we didn’t have is the cornerstone of what being a student-athlete is all about,” Nevada Director of Athletics Cary Groth said. “In designing the Marguerite Wattis Petersen Athletic Academic Center, we got input from our student-athletes, coaches and staff and looked at what other departments around the country are doing. We have designed one of the finest facilities in the country, and this is what our student-athletes need.”

The Marguerite Petersen Academic Center completes the E.L. Cord Foundation Academic and Athletic Performance Complex, a 46,000-plus-square-foot facility to provide for all of the needs of Wolf Pack student-athletes.

In an effort to be environmentally conscious, a number of “green” features were integrated into the design and construction of the Marguerite Petersen Academic Center, including energy-efficient heating and cooling and lighting systems. The design for the building includes a large number of windows which will take advantage of natural light, while many of the paving and building products being used in the construction are recycled materials. The building was named the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certified building on the university campus in April of 2009. Click here for more information about the LEED certification.

The academic center was built strictly on private donations. In addition to a lead gift from the Marguerite Wattis Petersen Foundation, many other donors have made the building of the academic center possible, including the E.L. Cord Foundation, the Wilbur D. May Foundation, the Hart Foundation, the Hopping Foundation, the Dorothy Towne Foundation and Drs. Rita and Harry Huneycutt as well as a number of others.

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