The SMC Campus Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore would like to recognize the Indigenous Peoples who lived on the land where our building stands. Through this effort we aim to promote Indigenous visibility and encourage support of Indigenous communities.

The original Baltimore Student Union building was built in 1960, located in the same place as the current SMC Campus Center. The original Baltimore Student Union encompassed two floors of dorm rooms, a large cafeteria, a student organizations office, student financial aid and the student counseling center. 

In the late 1990s, University leaders, former President Dr. David J. Ramsay and Dr. Malinda Orlin, then vice president of Academic Affairs and dean of the Graduate School, began envisioning a new student union that would serve all the students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and create an environment for interprofessional development and learning all while encompassing a modern recreational facility. In March 2007,  the original Baltimore Student Union was demolished and the footprint for the Campus Center began. The first steel column of the Campus Center was put in place on Nov. 13, 2007. 

The Campus Center construction took place from October 2007 through July 2009. During that time, Student Affairs offices were moved to different areas of campus, with some ending up at the Pine Street Station.

In September 2008, the old Pratt Athletic Facility was closed, emptied, and ready for renovation. Renovating the Pratt Gym and updating the elevators inside the Pratt Garage were a big component of the Campus Center project. The Pratt Gym is now connected to the Campus Center and only accessible through the Campus Center. 

The Campus Center ...

• Is composed of 1,600 tons of structural steel
• Had up to 90 tradesmen and tradeswomen working on the construction site daily
• During a typical month of construction, about 29,000 man hours were expended
• 90 percent of the construction waste each month was recycled
• Total recycled materials: 502.69 tons (the weight of 83.5 African elephants!)

During the construction of the Campus Center, Whiting Turner, the builder, was committed to ensuring the process was sustainable. Listed below is the amount of material tons recycled:

• Metals — 188.8
• Wood — 121.12
• Concrete — 77.94
• Masonry — 2.37
• Cardboard — 35.73
• Plastic — 12.8
• Salvage — 6.31
• Dirt — 1.76
• Sheetrock — 55.86