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‘Promise of Niagara’ continues Story and photos
by Joshua Maloni
A tour of Niagara University’s new, $18.65 million academic complex highlighted the school’s annual media luncheon on Tuesday. A walk through the three-story building, which will open to students when classes begin on Monday, overshadowed enrollment statistics and magazine rankings offered to local press members. “It’s a wonderful facility,” the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., campus president, said. “It’s really blended the old and the new.” The 55,000-square-foot building, whose foundation is the former Perboyre Hall, was constructed and furnished in a remarkably short 15 months. It is a complete remodel of the former College of Business Administration offices and the addition of a new wing to house the College of Education. The center was seeded last year by a $5 million gift from alum Jerry Bisgrove, ’68. His name will adorn the CBA’s portion of the structure. “Everyone seems to love the complex,” Levesque said. “And we’re very pleased about that.” The building is state-of-the-art, technically speaking; spacious; and aesthetically pleasing, with large windows overlooking campus and a modern, white and tan color scheme. It was built with pod-casting and video-recording capabilities, allowing faculty to broadcast lectures or entire classes over the Internet. There are also “SMART boards,” or high-tech, interactive sketch boards, throughout the complex. At the same time, the structure features two vegetative roofs, which will utilize grass and plants to naturally insulate parts of the building. Dr. Philip M. Scherer, acting dean of the CBA, said the complex, “represents the beginning of a new thrust for the College of Business.” His section will feature a financial services lab – complete with a stock ticker – and an adjoining “Bloomberg” room. Between the two classrooms, students will be able to use real analysis on real-time financial data. This will allow them the opportunity to become more job-ready when they graduate. “It will be quite an advantage for them,” Scherer said. The College of Education will also benefit from its new location. Trying to describe past efforts to assemble the department’s faculty – previously scattered across four buildings – Linus Ormsby, NU’s director of communications and public relations, said it was like “trying to herd cats – they were all over the place.” Now together, Dr. Debra A. Colley, dean, said the new building, “invites you to collaborate.” She said such academic teamwork will provide students with a “competitive advantage.” Colley said her college is “a laboratory for superintendents, principals, teachers and counselors.” The section’s features include a model, pre-K-12 classroom built to resemble a middle school. It’s designed to allow students the opportunity to learn how to “work a room.” The Center for Teaching Excellence will simulate instruction across multiple levels, incorporating math, science, language and social studies curriculums. The Institute of Applied Learning will feature literacy, counseling and assessment services. Colley said the new equipment and spread will allow her staff to “up the ante on academic achievement.”
Enrollment Continues to Rise; Projects Continue to Grow In terms of the campus as a whole, Levesque said enrollment is up 1.2 percent this year, to 2,860 students. Since 2000, enrollment is up 26 percent. “It’s not by accident; that’s when Father Levesque took over,” Ormsby said. Over that time period, $63 million has been spent on campus renovation and new construction. Ormsby said NU is responsible for 1,000 jobs and its annual contribution to the local economy is $160 million. Those numbers, he said, will surprise many people. “We (as a society) don’t realize what the impact of the university is on the community,” Ormsby said. The new academic complex is part of NU’s ongoing $80 million capital campaign, which was designed to modernize the campus and make it more competitive with similarly sized private universities. To date, $33 million has been donated. Future plans include a $25 million science building; a renovation and addition to the theater; a new dining area for students; new athletic fields; and landscaping. New Marketing Initiatives At the end of the media luncheon, Fred Heuer, assistant vice president for marketing, revealed the university’s new television commercials. The three viral, YouTube-style, ads will debut on Sunday, Sept. 9, as part of the MTV Video Music Awards (Ch. 60 on Time Warner Cable). Heuer said a contest will be launched in the fall semester, wherein students can submit a 60-second, homemade commercial of their own. One winner will receive a prize, which Heuer said could be an Apple iPod, and their creation will be the framework for one of next year’s commercials. “It will be a nice, exciting venture for them,” Heuer said. NU Theater and Live Music Events Niagara University’s theatrical season begins with a readers’ theater production of “I’m Peggy Guggenheim and You’re Not” at Niagara University Theater-at-the-Church. The comedy is on stage at 8 p.m., on Friday, Sept. 21, and Saturday, Sept. 22. A matinee will be held at 2 p.m., on Sunday, Sept. 23. The drama “Our Town” will be presented on the Leary Theater stage Oct. 4-14. “Catholic School Girls,” a 1960s-era satire, will take place at NU Theater-at-the-Church on Oct. 19-21. The “24-Hour Project” will be staged on campus at 8 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 27. The musical “Company” follows, running Nov. 8-18. On Friday, Nov. 30, the Theater Department will be joined by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages for a performance of “Le Jeu de L’Amour et du Hasard” (The Game of Love and Chance). The show will be held in cooperation with the Palisano Foundation. Rounding out the fall semester is “Birth and After Birth” at NU Theater-at-the-Church. It runs from Dec. 6-16. The second semester’s marquee production is Kander and Ebb’s “Cabaret,” which begins on April 24, at the Leary Theatre. The Box Office opens on Monday, Sept. 10. NU’s “Live Music Series” will run on six Fridays this semester. The former “Rockin’ the Ratt” boasts a lineup that includes: Sept. 7 Sept. 21 Oct. 12 Oct. 26 Nov. 9 Nov. 30 All shows are held from 8 to 11 p.m., in the “Under the Taps” Club in the Lower Level Gallagher Center. Admission is $5 at the door, and includes pizza and wings. The series is open to the public. For more information, visit www.niagara.edu/rtr. Related stories at www.wnypapers.com
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