Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.

WSU Science Center construction underway

Date: 9/25/2014

WESTFIELD – Westfield State University (WSU) celebrated the construction its newest building that will expand the research abilities of its students.

WSU conducted a ground breaking ceremony for its Science Center on Sept. 18. Walsh Brothers Construction is building the $33 million, 54,000 square-foot center, which is expected to open in the fall of 2016. Cambridge Seven Associates designed the building that will be adjacent to Wilson Hall and visible from Western Avenue. No traffic shutdowns, lane narrowing, or diversions are expected. Construction began in August.
   
The center will house state-of-the-art science laboratories, a suite of simulation labs for our nursing and health science programs, and a technology-rich, interactive classroom that will serve many academic departments including economics and management, psychology, geography and regional planning, mathematics and computer and information science.
   
“It’s the first academic building constructed in more than 40 years,” WSU President Elizabeth Preston said. “It’s one more example of how WSU is meeting the challenges of the 21st century in its 175th year.”
   
Preston noted that the $33 million dollars is being funded by a combination of government, corporate and private grants in addition money from donations and fundraising.
   
“It will be very much worth the wait,” she said.
   
Student Government Association President Rebecca DiVico said, “We may call it the new science building, but it’s so much more than that. It will help every student on this campus.”
   
DiVico will graduate in May of 2015 and joked that she might have to come back to WSU for graduate school so she can use the center.
   
Massachusetts Secretary of Education Matthew Malone said, “We are shaping the future and WSU is leading that future. This place is an amazing place. It has a storied tradition. This is an honorable institution. The work that the folks do here, the faculty and staff – this is God’s work.”
   
He added, “The teachers that you put out from this institution are some of the best teachers in the world. You’re educational program is phenomenal. This building we opened today [is] the only one of its kind in our environmental science [field] in the state college and university [system.] This is an exciting place to be.”
   
WSU officials recommended the following travel tips during construction:

•Construction will affect campus sidewalks and parking in the Commuter Parking Lot. Visitors to the campus should allow extra time to park and to get to their destination.

•Traffic on Western Avenue is expected to be comparable to the increased traffic experienced during the construction of University Hall in 2012.

•Campus sidewalks around the immediate construction area will be will be closed throughout the building process, including ones that primarily connect the Commuter Lot to Wilson Hall and Bates Hall.

•Parking in the Commuter Lot will be reduced during construction by approximately 120 spaces. Spaces lost are a combination of faculty/staff and student spaces. The university Parking Control Board has rearranged parking in other lots to make up for the temporary shortfall.

•To ensure the safety and security of students and passersby, the construction area will be secured and surrounded by a metal gate, which will open into the Commuter Parking Lot.

•The Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management will erect a sign with a rendering and notice of all who are working on the project site.