SPAGHETTI CACIO E PEPE
Kathleen & Francis Rooney Family
Residential Learning Center
The Rooney Family Center, or otherwise known as the monastery, was given fantastic reviews from previous students but it wasn’t until I arrived on Monday, January 16 that I realized the amazingness that is the OU in Arezzo monastery. It wasn’t hard to feel at home in the Rooney Family Center. This historic building has been renovated from a monastery into a clean, beautiful, and homey residence hall in the center of the medieval walls of Arezzo. Upon arrival, all the students instantly felt comfortable and excited to live in the monastery. The rooms are much more spacious than I expected, the decorations are appealing to the eye, the furniture is beyond comfortable, the random nooks around the building add to the brilliance of the monastery, the food service is practically gourmet, and the people who I share this amazing home with seem like family.
-Georgia Dyson, Spring 2017
The Living-Learning Facility for OUA Students
The history of the 32,000-square-foot Kathleen and Francis Rooney Family Residential Learning Center is closely linked to the history of the town of Arezzo and has been an important part of the architectural matrix of the city for over 800 years.
In 2016, the reconstruction of the Kathleen and Francis Rooney Family Residential Learning Center was completed. That spring, the doors opened to the first group of students. Click here to see how we brought it to the 21st century.
Learn more about why the building is called the Kathleen and Francis Rooney Family Residential Learning Center, also nicknamed the RFC!
The beautifully painted rooms on the main floor host two classrooms with modern technology and can stream courses taught on the OU Norman campus. Classrooms are large enough for groups of 30 students and there are additional study spaces such as the library and the study loft.
The reconstruction of this old monastery into a residential learning center was made possible by generous gifts from donors across the nation. The Rooney Family Center is a "home away from home" for the OU students who study in Arezzo.
The fully modernized Kathleen and Francis Rooney Family Residential Learning Center is the epicenter of all OU in Arezzo activities: pasta-making classes, movies on the lawn and community outreach activities (concerts, charity events and more).
Everyone's Spaces
The common spaces at OUA are comfortable and inviting with multiple study areas, a vast outdoor garden space, unique classrooms, a formal library, eating areas and even an espresso bar. These common areas provide students with lots of spaces to study independently, in groups or to hang out with new friends!