With music pumping, the sunny South Quad filled with hundreds of Bobcats who came out to enjoy food truck favorites, play lawn games and tour the new buildings. Held on the second day of classes for the fall semester, the interactive event also kicked off Quinnipiac’s first Common Hour programming.

Having experienced two days of classes at the new School of Business building, finance majors Riley Ruane ’27, MS ’28, and Adam Kim, ’28, grabbed the chance to enjoy some wings from The Blind Rhino food truck and relax for a bit on South Quad. Ruane and Kim are also members of Quinnipiac’s Division I men’s lacrosse team.

“I just love the new modern look of everything, and I also like how there’s always a lot of people here,” said Ruane. “There’s always something going on, and the classrooms and buildings just look really good.” 

Kim said it was great to be a Bobcat during a time of evolution at Quinnipiac.

“The classrooms that have that modern feel,” Kim said. “It really brings the campus to life – it’s awesome.”

Marketing major Dylan Bonacic ‘26, MBA ’27, also had great feedback following his second day on the South Quad attending classes at the new School of Business building.

“I love it. It’s like a whole new campus -- it’s a happy feeling,” said Bonacic. “I feel like the classrooms feel better for the lectures and better for our experiential learning. My favorite part of the building so far is The Summit. It’s a third-floor study room and it’s really nice -- there’s even some candy in there.”  

Quinnipiac President Marie Hardin said the excitement of the students she was meeting at the Open House event was energizing.

“The sun wasn’t the only source of warmth out here today,” said Hardin. “These students bring so much energy and excitement to this university. They made this event special. I got to meet so many students from across majors, and they are ready to be challenged and take advantage of all the opportunities we offer. That’s really exciting.”  

Provost Debra Liebowitz said seeing Quinnipiac’s newest academic spaces come to life marks an extraordinary moment.

“It honestly makes you speechless. It’s so extraordinary. It is so exciting.  Someone described it to me as a ‘tornado of happiness,’ and I loved that -- it is perfect. The energy is extraordinary, because what you see in these buildings is possibility and opportunity. You see a vision come to life,” Liebowitz said.

The Open House resonated with the same sense of community, synergy and enthusiasm for learning and exploration which was instantaneous when both buildings opened for the first day of classes on August 25, she added.

“There’s nothing like it. Here we are, in day two of the opening of these buildings, and students are occupying every corner and crevice. We designed these buildings to be centers of community, because we think you learn best in community; and look at the way it is already promoting exactly that. Students are working in small groups, they’re working with peers, they’re exploring new opportunities and new technology,” said Liebowitz.

The SITE houses the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) and is the Mount Carmel hub for the School of Health Sciences and the School of Nursing.  CAS Dean Adam Roth said it’s exciting to see the Bobcat family embrace spaces which are available to all members of the university family for study, collaboration and gathering.

“Yesterday was the first day of classes, and I walked throughout the building, and every seating area was already occupied by students. Every nook and cranny of the building had students in it, and faculty and staff were in these areas as well,” said Roth. “It’s so wonderful to see these expanded spaces for students to sit, to talk, to collaborate, to meet with faculty. It really is a community-oriented space that’s designed for connectivity.”

Roth said having interdisciplinary programs in one building has also created greater collaborative opportunities between himself and Trenton Honda, dean of the School of Health Sciences, and Larry Slater, dean of the School of Nursing.

“In my own suite, I’m together with other deans in a way we’ve never been before. We’re able to be so much more efficient and provide more resources to students,” Roth said.

As a home for science, innovation, technology and exploration, The SITE’s innovative spaces brim with technology; state-of-the-art collaborative classrooms, a 700-person auditorium and 15 new science teaching labs.

“It’s wonderful to see our lab students engaged in these new spaces. I talked to one student that interned this summer who told me she couldn’t believe how high tech and modern our new labs are,” Roth said. “It’s better than any space we’ve seen before. When I speak with faculty, they say it feels like being a part of something bigger – part of bigger goal, part of a bigger objective.”

Twenty-seven-year CAS faculty member, Dawn Colomb-Lippa, coordinates The SITE’s anatomy and physiology labs as senior instructor of biology; and is also an adjunct professor of physician assistant studies at the School of Health Sciences. She said she is amazed by the wave of energy she’s already experiencing at The SITE.

“I didn’t expect to see the energy change so quickly. It is palpable,” Colomb-Lippa said.

“We’re seeing really collaborative sharing happening, just by sitting amongst each other in the shared areas around the building. It’s a very positive energy change that happened very, very quickly.” 

Bobcat Olivia Prada ’28, is studying diagnostic medical sonography at the School of Health Sciences. She’s thrilled with the new learning spaces at The SITE.

“I had my anatomy lab as my first class in there yesterday, and it was super cool with everything in the lab. And the building has great open spaces for students. I think it’s beneficial for the students to have this new space and to be able to have that new experience. This was a good idea on Quinnipiac’s part,” said Prada.

Occupational therapy major Leah Forys, ’28, said she was looking forward to her first anatomy class at The SITE the next day.

“I toured it earlier and I’m very excited. It’s very modern in there, and I like all the spaces for hanging out and working outside of the classroom,” said Forys.

The SITE also adds 30,000 square feet of research space for faculty scholarship and for faculty to bring students into laboratories and the learning process. On the top level of the building, a greenhouse is being installed to serve as a teaching laboratory. The SITE has also allowed CAS to expand its environmental science and botany opportunities, Roth noted.

“And there’s more to come,” Roth said. “I just think that we’re going to continue to grow into this space and explore opportunities to collaborate with other programs too, like the School of Computing and Engineering, and the School of Communications; and co-branding these spaces for all of the undergraduates to use on campus.”

Watching the Open House excitement unfold on the South Quad, and seeing the university community explore the new academic buildings, School of Business Dean Holly Raider said it was a remarkable moment.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime day, to see the culmination of so many people’s hard work and vision,” said Raider.

Designed around student-centering learning and infused with cutting edge technology, the new School of Business building is a catalyst for innovation, creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration. Among its state-of-the art spaces, its three floors include collaborative classrooms, study rooms and flexible spaces, a café, an auditorium, and experiential learning areas including its Business Innovation Hub and Financial Technology Center.  

These intentionally designed spaces will spark big ideas and support meaningful partnerships as students prepare to become business leaders in tomorrow’s rapidly evolving world. Raider said she’s often asked what part of the new School of Business is her favorite.

“There’s a lot that I like about the new building, but I’ve said that my favorite part is what’s to come. It’s a spectacularly beautiful container; and inside is the spark of what faculty, students and staff will make possible,” said Raider.

Raider said School of Business community members are already making glorious use of the new spaces, together with Bobcats from across the university.

“Part of the vision is that the building will be magnetic and draw people in from all across campus. In these early days, to see them gathering in the café and on the patio is beyond fulfilling,” Raider said.

Chair of Finance and finance professor Matthew O’Connor said his students are energized by the new School of Business facility.

“Just in the first couple of days, the energy and outlook of students is through the roof. They’re really proud of the building, and they feel special because of everything that’s been done here,” said O’Connor. “It’s new, it’s modern, and it’s definitely designed with students in mind with the breakout spaces, the team rooms, and the technology. I think they’re incredibly appreciative and they’re super-energized by their new building.”

Assistant teaching professor of finance Eric McAlley combines 24 years of investment management experience with his instruction. He said teaching students in new Financial Technology Center’s experiential spaces, which includes Bloomberg Terminals, will give students an exceptional advantage when they head out into the job market.

“Investment analysts always use their Bloomberg’s; so being able to teach something and then putting the students on a Bloomberg, either together or by themselves for a project, ties everything together. When they go off on an interview, they have that experience to talk about,” said McAlley.

Sharing real-time market data in a flow of brilliant electric hues, the school’s digital stock ticker display wraps around the exterior of Financial Technology Center and overlooks the café and lobby on the main floor. There and elsewhere, the building resonates with student energy, said McAlley said.

“There’s a lot of excitement, especially by the students – they’re asking a lot of questions in class; you can hear the buzz downstairs, and you see students sitting with each other in all of the common spaces. You can see the synergy already, and it’s only been two days,” McAlley said.

Emma Nysk, ’28, said studying at the new School of Business has heightened her experience as a finance major.

“I love it so far. It feels like there’s more business happening in here,” said Nysk.

By promoting depth of intellectual discourse, these two new academic buildings and the purposeful space of the South Quad tie in beautifully to further support the university community as Quinnipiac continues to distinguish itself as an exemplary institution, said Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett.

“There’s so much to really enjoy at this university. Quinnipiac is now truly stunning,” said Ellett. “It’s putting into place the University of the Future; and there’s more to come."

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