WESTFIELD – On Thursday afternoon, Westfield State University President Dr. Evan Dobelle was joined by a group consisting of members of the school’s Board of Trustees, community leaders and students to cut the ribbon on the latest addition to the school’s collection of dormitories: University Hall.
At a cost of $59 million, funded exclusively through student residence fees, construction on the new 135,000-square-foot dorm began in the fall of 2011, It currently houses 409 students in suites comprised of living rooms, study areas, one-and-a-half to two bathrooms per unit, and a mix of single and double occupancy bedrooms housing four to six sophomores, juniors and seniors.
It also holds the distinction of being the first residence hall constructed since the New Hall apartment complex in 2005, and the first built since the school transitioned from a college to a university in 2010.
Prior to the cutting, it was announced that Wetfield State would be building a new science and technology (STEM) building which has a tentative opening date of September 2016.
Dobelle thanked the Board of Trustees who, prior to the ribbon cutting, approved almost $50 million in bond issue money to build the new STEM facility.
“This is the first academic building to be built (at Westfield State) in forty years. First time in forty years!” said Dr. Dobelle to the large assembled crowd of university and community leaders. “And when the Juniper Park school comes back to us in 2015, we’ll be able to transform that into a performance center for art and music.”
The event drew an impressive roster of speakers to the podium, each with a different, intimate connection to WSU, ranging from leaders from the City of Westfield, to those tasked with building the massive, modern dorm, to alumni and trustees.
With Westfield State’s Vice President of Government Relations Ken Lemanski serving as the master of ceremonies, Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik spoke of how the city has morphed from a college town to a “university city.”
“It’s a great resource for our community. There is no better neighbor than Westfield State,” Knapik said, referencing the school’s giving meals and shelter to residents during the two monster weather storms of 2011. “I am happy to say that Westfield has become a university city.”
Knapik also said that the school’s Owl Bucks program has pumped $1.7 million into the local economy since its inception.
“We are forever partners in this success,” he said.
Following Knapik was State Representative Brian Ashe (D-Longmeadow), a man who received two degrees and a certificate from the institution, and thanked the school for giving him his first entrance into politics.
“I ran successfully for President of Lammers Hall,” he said, before mentioning that that dormitory, once considered the most beautiful on campus, had been usurped by the one being honored Thursday.
“I’m so proud to call Westfield State my alma mater,” Ashe said. “(In Boston) we’ve made a real commitment to higher education, and Westfield State has become a staple for all of our state Universities to strive for.”
Lemansky went on to thank Ashe and his colleagues on Beacon Hill for allotting $1.9 million specifically for Westfield State in their budget this year.
Chairman of the WSU Board of Trustees John Flynn spoke after Ashe on his lifetime of experience with the institution.
“I have two sons, one who has graduated, and one who will graduate (from Westfield State),” said Flynn. “The improvements in five years under Dr. Dobelle are incredible.”
Flynn added that, to make those improvements a reality, “a lot of work had to be done after 6 p.m. at 333 Western Avenue”, the location of the Horace Mann Center where the school’s Board of Trustees hold their meetings.
Flynn would also reiterate that, despite the accolades being showered upon the school in recent years, the motivation remains the same.
“The purpose we are here for are the students,” he said.
Westfield State’s Student Government President Taylor Fote spoke of what it means to see a new residence hall on campus, especially one which seems more akin to a futuristic hotel than a bland dormitory.
“This magnificent building was built for us,” Fote said, before adding that she is “a little jealous of those who get to live here.”
Several of the men responsible for the construction of the new dorm, including Edward Adelman and Brian Corridan of the Massachusetts State College Building Authority and Richard Walsh, President of Walsh Brothers Construction, Inc., also spoke of what the construction of University Hall means to them.
“The reason we’re all here is that we love higher education,” said Adelman. “On-campus living is critical in the success of our students. Our next generation, this is our future.”
“This is a special place where you live and interact,” said Walsh.
Corridan provided the liveliest speech of the afternoon, reciting a personal adage to begin his speech.
“You see what you see by virtue of where you stand when you look,” he said, gazing up at Westfield State’s latest ode to modern comfort. “We in Massachusetts owe our students the best we can possibly give them and that’s what we’ve done. We’re building futures and fostering dreams.”
Corridan, a lifelong resident of Chicopee who began his higher education at Westfield State before graduating from Stonehill College in Easton, also spoke of the pressures faced by young people, and how University Hall will help to alleviate the worst pressure of them all.
“It is about the student. They have so much pressure, whether it’s financial or from their peers,” he said. “There is one pressure they should never face, and that is their living conditions.
After Corridan, Dr. Dobelle stepped to the podium and spoke of the effect he believes the new building will have on campus.
“(University Hall) is a place where the rich history of Westfield State, and our hope for its growth and success converge,” he said. “It was beautifully planned, to inspire all of us who believe public education campuses and resources need not be dimmer reflections of those of private or more richly endowed institutions of higher learning.”
“To me, we have a living proof here of the noble belief that every child deserves an education,” Dobelle said. “However, I’m not sure there is something more stunning, more thought out and more constructed in a perfect way than the one we have today.”
Speaking of the growth of the school since his first days as university president in 2008, Dobelle ushered in the new building by looking back at everything that lead to the ribbon cutting yesterday afternoon.
“256 acres, 24 buildings, nine residence halls and a downtown residence, Landsdowne Place,” he said. “We are always upbeat. We are always transparent. We are always looking to the future.”
Follow Peter Francis on Twitter at @PeterFrancisWNG
