Quinnipiac University’s Provost Debra Liebowitz and Vice President for Facilities and Capital Planning Sal Filardi presented a three-step plan to reallocate space in multiple buildings on the Mount Carmel Campus in a Feb. 4 information session.
The creation of the South Quad with two new academic buildings allows classrooms, faculty office spaces, meeting and study spaces to relocate throughout buildings across campus. Between The SITE, the new academic building, and the new School of Business, there is a total of 216,000 square feet of new space on the Mount Carmel Campus.
“What we have been doing is engaging in a whole process of stakeholder meetings and engagement so we can . . . test where things ought to go,” Liebowitz said at the town hall meeting.
Liebowitz, Filardi and the planning team presented the re-spacing plan to faculty, staff and students both in person and online. During the presentation, Liebowitz showed blueprints of multiple buildings and outlined how each room will be used.
The buildings impacted by the plan include: Clarice L. Buckman Center, Lender School of Business, Arnold Bernhard Library, College of Arts and Sciences, Carl Hansen Student Center, Echlin Center, Tator Hall and Center for Communications and Engineering. The re-spacing plan will go into motion starting during summer 2025.
What will these changes look like?
Clarice L. Buckman Center
Known as “Buckman,” the building houses classrooms, labs, professor offices and an auditorium. It frequently hosts biology and environmental science labs. However, Buckman will be demolished this summer to make way for a future building. Many of the professors who have offices in Buckman will be moved to The SITE.
A professor in the audience voiced his concern at the info session about how the demolition of Buckman will impact the various musical groups on campus. Clubs like the QU Symphony utilize the auditorium for their rehearsals and performances because it is the only venue on the Mount Carmel Campus that is designed for musical performances. The other building that is fit for this is the Theater Arts Center, located on Sherman Ave.
Although there is no plan to address this issue at the moment, Liebowitz expressed her desire to work with the professors and students who utilize this space to find a solution.
Lender School of Business
The new School of Business will be located next to The SITE building. This building will consist of classrooms, professor offices, study rooms, an auditorium and a café.
The current School of Business will become a space for a variety of administrative offices, multipurpose rooms and an expanded School of Communications. Its new name for the time being is the “Student Success Center.”
The Office of Inclusive Excellence (currently located in the Center for Communications and Engineering), the Office of International Students and Scholars, the Office of Global Engagement and the Career Development and Experiential Learning Lab (all currently located in the Arnold Bernhard Library) and The Honors Program’s Offices and Lounge (currently located in Echlin Center), will also be moved to the current School of Business.
“I think the (current) School of Business feels very office-y,” said James Mitchenson, a first-year health science major. “So if we put all of (those) offices there, I think it would be fitting.”
The Office of International Student and Scholars changed locations last academic year when it vacated the space in the Center for Communications, Computing and Engineering to make space for the Office of Inclusive Excellence. Similarly, the Honors’ offices and lounge moved spaces two years ago, from the same building to Echlin Center.
The School of Communications, which is located both in the CCE and the current School of Business, will expand slightly to rooms next to its existing space in the School of Business.
Arnold Bernhard Library
In addition to serving as a study space, the Arnold Bernhard Library is home to multiple offices, such as the President’s Suite, One Stop, Registrar offices, the Learning Commons and the Information Technology Services offices. With many of the current offices moving out of ABL, this gives more room to the offices that are staying.
The One Stop and Registrar offices will consolidate with the Career Development and Global Engagement offices. The Learning Commons will expand slightly where the Registrar office currently stands. This allows for ITS to expand to the current testing centers, which are a part of the Learning Commons. The Quinnipiac Innovations in Learning and Teaching offices, located in the One Stop space, will be shared with the Learning Commons and other offices.
College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences offers 26 programs, some of which don’t fit into the buildings. One of these programs include the Psychology department, which is located in the CCE. With the new re-spacing plan, the psychology offices will be moved to the lower level of College of Arts and Science’s first building
“As a psych(ology) major, I’m excited to see the psych(ology) department get moved,” said Catrina Fielding, a junior psychology major. “I kind of didn’t even realize where it was until last semester, so I think it’s really cool.”
In addition to the Psychology Department, CAS-1 will also have designated research spaces for psychology students. The modular buildings behind CAS that hold lab classes will also be removed.
Carl Hansen Student Center/Tator Hall
The Carl Hansen Student Center is home to various student organization areas, such as the Greek Life Suite, the Student Government Association Suite and the Student Media Suite. One of these, the Multicultural Center, will move across the hall to a larger space next to an expanded Muslim prayer room. A new student lounge will replace the current Multicultural Center.
The Quinnipiac Bookstore will relocate to a new space between the Lender School of Business and North Lot to make way for expanded dining options.
“I like the idea of (moving) the bookstore and expanding the dining hall because I love food,” Mitchenson said. “But it might be a little annoying to walk that far to the bookstore.”
In Tator Hall, room 232, which is currently a classroom, will open for meeting and event use. The Testing Center, originally located in ABL, will be moved to the third floor of Tator Hall.
Echlin Center
The Honors Program and School of Health Sciences offices are currently located in the Echlin Center. With the Honors Program moving to the current School of Business, there will be space for additional School of Health Sciences faculty offices. The Economics Department will also move into this space, and the center will add an Exercise Science Lab.
Center for Communications
and Engineering
The re-spacing plan for the Mount Carmel Campus opens multiple rooms for the School of Communications and the School of Engineering. A room on the second floor will become a part-time faculty lounge. This is the only open space that has a designated use. During the town hall meeting, Liebowitz mentioned one of the ideas for the current Office of Inclusive Excellence is to convert it into a space for The Agency, Quinnipiac’s student-led strategic communications agency.
Throughout the re-spacing process, Liebowitz and her team plan to involve faculty and students.
“Exactly how that space gets laid out or whether (faculty and students) need to renovate that space is not reflected in these plans,” Liebowitz said. “That’s where we need all of the user groups to engage in detailed conversions about what it will look like.”
Liebowitz looks forward to seeing how this plan makes an impact on campus.
“It has tremendous possibilities to create greater opportunity for community, for student success and for additional space for innovation and growth in areas and programs where it’s most needed,” Liebowitz said.
