By 
By: CHRISTINA CLARK
Staff Writer
clark66@iusb.edu
On a chilly Monday morning during fall break, Senator Joe Donnelly joined IU South Bend administration members in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Riverside Hall.
The building, located on the south side of Riverside Drive, will soon house the IUSB Health and Wellness Center, partnered with and operated by HealthLinc, after a $4 million renovation. The building will also serve as the location for the Clinical Laboratory Sciences program.
At the ceremony, Donnelly recalled being asked by HealthLinc CEO Beth Wrobel to support a grant for the center, and thinking, “This makes so much sense,” he said.
The health center will serve the local community’s healthcare needs, as well as the students and faculty in the facility.
“This splendid renovation project has refurbished and modernized more than 11,000 square feet in its entirety of the building,” said IU Vice President John Applegate in his remarks on Monday.
“The building has undergone the much needed, all-new mechanical, plumbing, electrical, data and security, and access systems. Riverside Hall will be home to updated clinical space, laboratories, radiology equipment, a pharmacy, classrooms, offices, student resources and enhance academic programs in the Health Sciences, including IU South Bend’s Clinical Laboratory Science program,” he said.
A $1,050,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was given to HealthLinc, which was supported by Senator Donnelly, as well as a $1 million gift from the Vera Z. Dwyer Charitable Trust, to fund the renovation and clinic partnership.
Six speakers engaged the audience before the ribbon cutting itself. IU President Michael McRobbie was billed to appear, but sent IU Vice President John Applegate in his place. With Applegate speaking first after an introduction from IU South Bend Terry L. Allison, they were followed by Dean Thomas Fisher of the Vera Z. Dwyer College of Health Sciences, Beth Wrobel, CEO of HealthLinc, as well as David Kibbe, president and CEO of Indiana Trust and Investment Management Company, prior to the keynote speaker U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly. Shortly after, they cut the ribbon to commemorate the completion of the Riverside Hall renovation.
