From Grey’s Anatomy’s 22 season-long run (and counting!) to everyone’s favorite Regency romance in Bridgerton (if you’re still not over Kanthony, I’m right there with you), Shonda Rhimes is a master at building worlds fans never want to escape from. Fortunately, she’s bringing a piece of Shondaland to the real world. Literally. The award-winning director and screenwriter has pledged $15 million to Dartmouth College to build The Shonda Rhimes Hall, an undergraduate residence hall that will be opened in fall of 2028.Â
Located on West Wheelock Street, the Shonda Rhimes Hall will provide housing for over 115 juniors and seniors and add 1,000 beds for students, faculty, and staff within the next five years. It also marks the first time a Dartmouth building has been named after a woman and for a Black alum.
It’s no secret that Dartmouth has a special place in Rhimes’s heart. Having graduated in 1991, she delivered the university’s commencement speech for the class of 2014 and makes frequent campus visits as a trustee. As tribute to Rhimes’s history, Meredith Grey, the lead in Grey’s Anatomy, is an alumna of Dartmouth, repping the school several times throughout the show. It’s safe to assume that when the hall opens in the fall of 2028 — just in time for the Class of 2032 — it just may be the most sought-after address in Hanover.Â
There’s still a great deal of planning to do, but in Rhimes Hall, the mostly four-bedroom suites will have kitchens, bathrooms, and a shared common space. There will also be a ground-floor living room that will serve as a space for the 400-student neighborhood to hang out and make new friends. A wellness studio is also in the works, which will allow students to do yoga or some light cardio. For students who play instruments, there will be a variety of soundproof spaces that can also be used for other activities that require uninterrupted focus. Â
All of the amazing amenities featured came in response to conducted surveys and discussions with students, further emphasizing Rhimes’s push for inclusion both on and off the screen. Rhimes also suggested adding a grand piano to the list of comfortable furniture she wants to include in the space. It’s definitely giving underclassmen something to look forward to!
“For me, the person I was when I came in as a freshman is completely different from the person I was as a junior,” Rhimes said in an interview with Dartmouth College. “In the beginning you’re finding your way. By your junior year, you’re pursuing the goals that are going to work for you after you graduate. So I think a different kind of housing is necessary.”