Sacred Heart University broke ground in May on the largest new academic building in the school”™s 50-year history.
On the corner of Park and Jefferson streets, the 125,000-square-foot structure will house the John F. Welch College of Business and the Department of Communication & Media Studies, one of Sacred Heart”™s fastest-growing programs.
Another building area will be set aside to teach professors how to teach better.
Completion is expected by year”™s end.
“This is an exciting time for the university,” said University President John J. Petillo. “This building represents our growth and our commitment to provide our students with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.
“It is especially fitting as we approach the 50th anniversary of the university that we are able to successfully meld our past with the future and provide a strong liberal arts education enhanced by the technological advances of the 21st century,” he said.
John Chalykoff, dean of the College of Business, said it “has outgrown its current location on the second floor of Roncalli Hall and is ready to begin a new chapter.”
A trading floor is planned for the business school.
“We are pleased to be moving into a new facility for the Welch College that will bring together faculty, staff and students in one location,” Chalykoff said. “It will allow for the creation of new and innovative educational experiences and facilitate research and novel pedagogy. The building is designed, through smart classrooms, interactive labs and open spaces, to foster engaged learning ”” high levels of interaction between students, faculty and the world beyond. For us, this is not merely a new building; it is the start of a new and exciting chapter in the educational mission of the Welch College of Business.”
The Department of Communication & Media Studies”™ new home will include two large studios for television, video and film production, plus industry-standard post-production facilities, screening venues and multimedia classrooms. The building will also accommodate spaces for the student-produced newspaper, radio station and television programs.
“These spaces will benefit the entire university by facilitating the production of digital content across programs and departments, and we look forward to partnering with our colleagues in the digital humanities, business, advertising, graphic design, health communication, instructional technology, sport management, the performing arts, athletic communication, media literacy education and other fields,” said Debbie Danowski, chairwoman of the Department of Communication & Media Studies. “As a department, we have seen tremendous growth over the last few years, including the introduction of several new graduate programs and a new undergraduate major. Enrollment in some of our programs is more than double what we anticipated. Our new facilities will allow us to better serve both our current and future students by providing them with state-of-the-art equipment that will make them more competitive in the job market.”
The three-level building will also house a new Center of Excellence for Pedagogy ”” an interactive classroom for training professors on the most up-to-date tools and processes.
Other features of the building include a two-story atrium; a 225-seat multimedia forum for leadership institutes, lectures and screenings; satellite-equipped classrooms for interaction with other SHU campuses; film screening and editing rooms; classrooms for use by the entire university; faculty offices; conference rooms and lounges for meetings between faculty and students; a café; and landscaping infused with walking paths and benches for informal meetings.
“It will be a vibrant working space where students will collaborate with faculty and each other in the production of TV, radio and print,” Petillo said, citing the building as the cornerstone of a $30 million, five-year capital campaign.
The building has been designed by Massachusetts-based Sasaki Associates ”” the same firm that designed the university”™s award-winning Chapel of the Holy Spirit and its Linda E. McMahon Commons. The university said it will incorporate the latest in heating, ventilation and air conditioning technologies and energy-saving lighting.
Very nice, I didn’t know about this till now, I will follow its evolution closely… Thanks for the head’s up!