Braxton Tower Residential College
Braxton Tower is named after Jim Braxton, former captain of West Virginia University’s football team in 1970 and player of the Buffalo Bills for seven and a half years. Known affectionately as “Towers,” the ERC is a group of four connected residence halls: Bennett, Braxton, Brooke, and Lyon. Located on the Evansdale campus, the ERC is a short PRT ride from the downtown campus or Health Sciences Center, and is close to the Engineering buildings. The Student Recreation Center is right outside your door! Almost 1,800 male and female students live in this complex, which shares a central lobby and dining hall. The halls feature single, double, and triple rooms with community bathrooms.
All rooms are air-conditioned and carpeted, with laundry rooms, community bathrooms, and lounges on each floor. The complex includes tennis, volleyball, and basketball courts, a post office, craft center, campus bookstore, academic resource center with free tutoring, computer center, and classrooms, along with a sandwich and coffee shop. You are within walking distance of many classroom buildings, the Coliseum, Milan Puskar Stadium (home of Mountaineer Field), grocery stores and restaurants, and the Creative Arts Center.
Braxton Tower focuses on close academic and social ties to the College of Engineering based on the vision of Resident Faculty Leaders, Bob and Dara Whitmore. Residents will have the opportunity to work more closely with faculty to improve academics and will be provided educationally-rich, interactive programming that will enhance their learning experience within the College of Engineering and any other major at the university.
Area Advisor, Ernesto Waines, oversees the daily operations of the building and helps to carry out the hall programming with the assistance of eighteen resident assistants (RAs) and the wellness coordinator. Programs have included trips to Cleveland, New York City, Pittsburgh and Washington DC for sporting events to view the Cavaliers, Indians, Pirates, Penguins and Wizards. Our visits also included The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Smithsonian Museums and the Benedum Center and our residents participate in activities such as whitewater rafting, baseball, soccer, and basketball games, bird walks, backpacking and camping trips, musical performances, video game tournaments, and many more. In recognition of Jim Braxton’s accomplishments as a humanitarian, Braxton Tower also highly values the service component of community membership, through our Hall Council our staff and residents work with many volunteer organizations to help with fundraisers, blood drives, and community development and support.
Contact information:
Braxton Main Desk:
Kelly Webber, Secretary
(304) 293-2814
Kelly Webber @mail.wvu.edu
Resident Faculty Leaders:
Dr. Bob and Dara Whitmore
(304) 293-4372×13050
Bob.Whitmore@mail.wvu.edu
Dara.Whitmore@mail.wvu.edu
Area Advisor:
Ernesto Waines
(304) 293-4372×13040
Ernesto.Waines@mail.wvu.edu
