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October 29, 2021

Major Upgrade: With new $52.4M facility, Southern CT State Univ. makes big bet on business school

PHOTO | Courtesy SCSU Jennifer Robin, dean of the School of Business, poses in front of the construction site for the school’s new building.
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Leaders at Southern Connecticut State University have a plan to attract more students who want to be future business leaders.

That plan? A brand new, more modern School of Business building, expanded business-related coursework, additional faculty and accreditation.

SCSU President Joe Bertolino said the goal is for more students interested in business to make the New Haven-based school their top choice.

Asked about his ambitions for the School of Business, Bertolino said it is “to provide greater access to students who may not otherwise have the opportunity.”

“Now, [the business school] is a nice size, but there is a need and a desire to expand,” Bertolino said. The new building “will provide much needed business lab space, and an opportunity to be involved in business work in real time. It will mean more opportunities to engage with business leaders.”

In September, SCSU hosted a formal groundbreaking for its future School of Business building, which is being constructed near the intersection of Farnham and Wintergreen avenues.

The new $52.4 million, four-story, 60,000-square-foot facility will double the business school’s available space and is expected to open in early 2023, said School of Business Dean Jennifer Robin.

“We are a growing school, we have grown our faculty pretty significantly,” Robin said. “All of our offices will be co-located. We will have most of our classes in that building. It will create a sense of place for our students, faculty and staff, which is really exciting.”

More is better

The business school currently has 52 full-time and 20 part-time faculty members, and 1,104 full- and part-time students. That includes 69 full-time and 35 part-time MBA students.

The new building will feature nine general classrooms, plus specialized classrooms and lecture halls. It will have a behavioral lab area with an observation room, a community room for up to 100 people, a large classroom and administrative suite for the MBA program, and an area for financial market and data analytics.

The building will have office space for the dean, faculty and staff, and will feature a stock market ticker visible from the outside. It is also designed to be environmentally friendly, or net-zero in terms of carbon emissions. Programs for career planning and job searches will take place there, and it will have space for students to meet with potential employers.

Currently, there are two large classrooms in the School of Business’ existing building, and business students have also attended classes in a neighboring property and across campus.

“More of our classes will be able to be located in the [new] School of Business building than is possible now,” Robin said.

PHOTO | Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Workers broke ground on the new School of Business building at Southern Connecticut State University in a September ceremony. Construction is expected to be finished in early 2023.

Bertolino said it was too expensive to tear down the existing School of Business building, and cost-effective to invest in a new facility. Once the new building is finished, the current one will be allocated for other uses, which have yet to be determined, he said.

There is a significant demand for business-related coursework, particularly at the graduate level, Bertolino said, noting how many people are switching careers nowadays and looking for new opportunities.

“A lot of companies, corporations and organizations are looking to train and retrain their employees,” Bertolino said. “The school provides an opportunity to partner with regional and state entities to bring people up to speed or train them to come in.”

Robin said there are several business fields that are seeing growth, such as marketing research, management and all aspects of finance.

Coveted accreditation

SCSU has been making several changes in connection with its efforts to secure accreditation for its School of Business from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The nonprofit organization has accredited some 900 business schools worldwide and is expected to conduct an accreditation visit to SCSU this spring.

Robin is expected to play a pivotal role in the business school’s growth. She joined SCSU earlier this year, and previously served as an associate dean at the Foster College of Business at Bradley University, where she oversaw its accreditation process.

SCSU President Joe Bertolino

Bertolino said Southern’s competition for biz school students typically has been UConn's satellite campuses, Quinnipiac University, the University of New Haven, Sacred Heart University, and Central Connecticut State University, all of which have accredited programs.

“We are seeking accreditation for our business school, and the last step is the official visit, and that has been scheduled,” Bertolino said. “If you make it this far, it usually looks good. The visit is in the spring, and we feel good about it.”

According to Robin, it is the “gold standard” for business school accreditation, and achieving this designation would further bolster the business school’s image. The upcoming visit is the culmination of about 10 years of effort.

“The thing I like to impress upon people is that it is an engine for continuous improvement,” Robin said. “While it is significant, it is certainly not the beginning nor the end of the process. It really drives us to engage with students and the community and our profession, and to innovate — whether that be innovative programs or curricula.”

SCSU has been expanding its business school faculty in recent years for its accreditation bid. According to Robin, 10 new full-time faculty positions have been added recently, and about 25% of its faculty have been hired within the past five years.

“It is very competitive to recruit business school faculty, but we have recruited a wonderful and diverse group,” Bertolino said.

The curriculum is also being reviewed and upgraded, Robin said. SCSU’s growing MBA program has been “revised significantly,” she said. It is now a 42 credit program and coursework can be completed online. There are new curriculum areas too, such as human resources management and business analytics.

Positive experience

Mariam Noorzad, a Milford resident, graduated from Southern this past May after majoring in accounting. She secured a job as an assurance accountant at Ernst & Young and speaks highly of the education she got at SCSU.

“I felt the School of Business helped me grow professionally,” Noorzad said. “When I first came to SCSU in 2016, I didn’t feel as confident.”

Through her coursework, seminars in women’s leadership and meeting with other professionals at SCSU, her confidence grew, she said. Still, she is excited about the new School of Business building and what it will mean for future students.

During her time at SCSU, her business-related classes were all over campus. With more space, there will be more opportunities for events and speakers.

Noorzad had been accepted to another university, but she said she ultimately went with SCSU to avoid having student debt. She described SCSU as more attainable financially than other business schools.

For state residents, undergraduate tuition is currently at $11,882, while graduate/MBA students pay $14,682.

As for SCSU’s new building and expanding staff and course offerings, Noorzad said, “I think it will attract more students who are interested in business careers, and give them more opportunities. It will open up the door for more students to go into the business field.”

A rendering of the future School of Business building now under construction on the campus at Southern Connecticut State University.

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