St. John's University Dedicates New Learning Commons

A Staten Island college is able to renovate its library thanks to one local bank.

St. John's University dedicated its new learning commons to the Richmond County Savings Foundation on Thursday in Grymes Hill.

The bank provided St. John's with a $250,000 grant last year to upgrade its Loretto Library.

The new library has fewer books and more up-to-date supplies, with the goal of creating more space for students to work together.

"It's the new world, it's the new way of learning and teaching, and I'm glad St. John's is up to par with the other colleges now," said Cesar Claro, the executive director of RCSF.

"We are giving them the skills they need to learn how to work in groups, to learn how to facilitate groups, to learn how to build consensus and to build leadership role," said James O'Keefe, the Vice Provost of the Staten Island Campus.

The foundation says its goal is to share some of the bank's financial success with the community.