Southern Connecticut State University’s School of Business is now officially open for business.
The university celebrated a ceremonial opening Friday of the 23,000-square-foot building designated for the school. The facility is a renovated portion of the Old Student Center and includes office space for faculty and staff, two seminar/classrooms and a finance trading/seminar room. It also has start-up space for the Business Success Center, which is being used to coordinate a project to increase the number of business students.
“After so many years of waiting, Southern now has a first-class home for its business programs, which are among the most in-demand for our students,” said President Mary A. Papazian.
Business faculty and staff had been using the dilapidated Seabury Hall, which was built in 1956 as a dormitory and is now vacant and scheduled to be demolished soon. Plans call for that area to be used for temporary parking once the building is demolished.
“Our top priority is always educating students and this building is a first step toward providing a higher-quality business education,” Papazian said. “The next critical step is to acquire an appropriate amount of high-quality classroom space so that our business faculty can provide instruction in a setting that facilitates and inspires deep learning.”
Papazian was among a variety of speakers that also included Lt. Gov. Nancy S. Wyman; Ellen Durnin, dean of the School of Business; Anthony Rescigno, president of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, and Pasquale Salemi, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Administrative Services. Other speakers were: Elaine Clark, vice president for Facilities and Infrastructure Planning for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities; Chase Fuller, a junior marketing major; Pamela Hopkins, professor of management and Mark Germain, an alumnus and founder of Beacon Wealth Management LLC of Hackensack, N.J.
The $6.6 million project has resulted in a three-floor structure with a brick and glass exterior. It has been designated as a LEED-certified silver (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building, which means that it is highly energy efficient.
Wyman said the building was another step forward for SCSU and will help students be well-prepared for their careers. Durnin agreed. “Our students are bright, hard working and they challenge and inspire us,” she said.
The architect for the project was Tecton Architects Inc. of Hartford, and the contractor was Nosal Builders Inc. of Durham.
The School of Business offers a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with concentrations inaccounting, economics and finance, international business, management and management of information systems, and marketing. It also offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a Master of Business Administration degree.
