🔒Finishing Touches: SCSU completes $52.4M School of Business building

Less than two years after first breaking ground, Southern Connecticut State University in May will finish construction of its new 60,000-square-foot School of Business building.

The long-awaited $52.4 million, four-story facility doubles the business school’s available space, and the project was a key component of SCSU’s recently successful bid to get accreditation for its School of Business.

“I believe the new building will energize our learning community because it is very contemporary and modern,” said Jess Boronico, dean of the School of Business. “It serves as a testament to the hard work of our faculty and students, and it’s an opportunity to share in a gorgeous new building.”

Boronico also anticipates the new building will make SCSU more attractive to prospective business students who are evaluating which college or university to attend.

SCSU has faced competition from area accredited business programs, including UConn, Quinnipiac University, the University of New Haven, Sacred Heart University and Central Connecticut State University.

“The achievement of accreditation we hope will enhance local enrollment,” Boronico said. “We hope to enroll students from around the world. The new building has attracted interest and excitement, and will enhance learning opportunities.”

In early May, SCSU officials reported that the business school had an undergraduate enrollment of nearly 700, and a graduate student enrollment of about 60.

Boronico, who joined SCSU in June 2022, has a background in successfully leading universities to accreditation. SCSU officials on May 4 secured accreditation for the business school from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). 

Sense of place

Construction on the new School of Business building, at the intersection of Farnham and Wintergreen avenues, started in September 2021.

As of April, workers were completing cosmetic work on the building, including cleaning, painting walls and moving in furniture.

Officials said they plan to allow faculty to move into the building around May 22. Students will be able to use the new facility in the upcoming fall semester, and a grand opening celebration is being planned for Sept. 15.

The building was originally slated to be finished earlier this year, but the timeline was pushed back due to delays caused by supply chain issues and COVID-19 protocols, according to Eric Lessne, SCSU’s associate vice president for capital budgeting and facilities operations.

The new building features nine general classrooms, plus specialized classrooms and lecture halls, dean and faculty offices, and break rooms. It has private areas for group meetings and discussions, and space for executive staff meetings.

There are team rooms and function spaces, including a 1,500-square-foot community room for up to 100 people. A stock market ticker will be visible outside the first floor.

The new building has an auditorium, which is now the largest on campus, and it will be used for teaching, presentations, panel discussions and events featuring visitors from the business community.

The School of Business in the past hasn’t had its own event space, and instead has had to make use of meeting spaces elsewhere on campus. The new auditorium can seat up to about 125 people, according to Victoria Verderame, assistant director of media relations.

The school’s Business Success Center offers career planning and job search help, and it features locations for employers to meet and interview SCSU students.

The facility was designed to have a lot of interior glass to allow for outside light to get to the center of the building, according to Chris Daur, resident engineer and project manager with project management company Jacobs.

SCSU’s current “maze-like” School of Business building is much smaller, older and darker in comparison, officials said.

All business school offices and most business-related classes will be at the new facility, which is expected to create a sense of place for the business school community, Boronico said.

The School of Business has been in a former student center building. Due to insufficient space at the current location, business students have had to occasionally attend classes in other buildings around campus. University officials have not yet determined the future use for the old School of Business building, according to Verderame.

“My whole leadership paradigm is about bringing all stakeholders together in ways that are meaningful,” Boronico said. “This new building provides a wealth of learning spaces of various sizes, and it will encourage and foster collaboration.”

Smart energy

The new facility is also environmentally-friendly, officials said, and will be the first state-owned, net zero energy building in terms of its carbon footprint. It makes use of both solar and geothermal power.

Daur also noted energy efficient features such as smart lighting, with the lighting automatically dimming or brightening based on available sunlight. The building also has occupancy and vacancy sensors, and lights turn off automatically when a room remains unoccupied.

Unused energy will go back to the grid, Daur said.

SCSU student Preston Baldovin, a junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance, said he’s looking forward to attending classes in the new building. Baldovin’s career goals include working in risk management.

“(The new facility) has numerous classrooms and resources, limiting travel for business majors from building to building,” Baldovin said. “This building will be environmentally friendly and have plenty of space.”

Baldovin noted that the AACSB accreditation will add value to an SCSU degree.

“The expansion of coursework and initiatives the School of Business has created will have a notable impact on student engagement and performance as they develop through their college career and emerge into the workforce,” Baldovin added.

In addition to the new facility, SCSU in recent years has been expanding its business-related class offerings and hiring additional business faculty as part of its accreditation bid journey.

When construction started in 2021, SCSU officials indicated they had recently added 10 new full-time faculty positions. At the time, the business school had 52 full-time and 20 part-time faculty members. SCSU did not have 2023 faculty totals readily available as of early May.

The curriculum has also been upgraded, with courses in human resources management and business analytics; an online MBA is also offered.

Tuition for in-state, undergraduate full-time students for the 2023-24 school year at SCSU, including fees, will be $12,828.