The Dr. Lucio C. Tan Student Success Center, estimated to cost $22.9 million, features 45,000 square feet over two stories. It will become the hub of student services, including Admissions, Financial Aid, Counseling and Advising, Student Health, and Career Development. The Center will also provide multi-use collaboration spaces and a creativity and innovation area where students can exercise their imagination and entrepreneurial muscles — to design, fabricate, test, and demonstrate ideas.

The facility is being built across from the Calvo Field House and will provide enhanced student experiences with the new Triton Store, Coffee Shop, and Dining Hall featuring a banquet room and meeting spaces for the Student Government Assocation and student organizations.

“This will be a vibrant hub for our students coming through our halls and coming through the offices that are intended to support student success in a variety of ways,” UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez said.

The project was seeded with a gift of $1 million from Dr. Lucio C. Tan, a self-made Philippines-based business tycoon whose interests span banking, airlines, sports, real estate, and beverages, among others. Dr. Tan’s business ventures in Guam include the Micronesia Mall, Philippine Airlines, American Bakery, and Guam Beachfront Residences.

President Enriquez expressed gratitude to members of Dr. Tan’s family who attended the groundbreaking, including his daughters Sheila Tan Pascual, Jeselyn Tan Yu and Karlu Tan Say, and several grandchildren.

Sheila Pascual, representing Dr. Tan, read a letter on his behalf saying, in part, “I did not hesitate (to support UOG) as education has been and continues to be a foundational philosophy of my philanthropy. I firmly believe that truly there is no end to learning.”

President Enriquez also recognized the joint efforts of the UOG Board of Regents and the UOG Endowment Foundation in concert with the USDA Rural Development office to secure the USDA loan that made the project possible.

Christian Gyles Ramos, the 62nd Student Government Association Vice President, said the long-awaited project shows what UOG can accomplish as a united community.

“If we continue to do this, together, we will have an island where every student’s dreams come true, problems get easily resolved, and everyone gets a chance at living their best life. It is time we do something about it, and it begins here, with the new student center,” Ramos said.

Reliable Builders Inc. is the construction contractor. Local Architect Enrico A. Cristobal designed the building.

The project is expected to be completed in April 2025.

UOG also recently launched the construction of the School of Engineering, the Nursing Annex for the Dr. Margaret Perez Hattori-Uchima School of Health, and the Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific