With plans of welcoming thousands of future Bearcats to Binghamton University, the new Admissions Building officially opened its doors to administrators, faculty and current students.
BU held its official grand opening celebration for the building Thursday afternoon in what was formerly the Dickinson Dining Hall.
The admissions center, previously located in Academic Building A, moved to its new home in September, but the official opening offered visitors a chance to tour the sites and hear speeches from administrators. The new building is now also home to Student Accounts, Financial Aid and Student Records, Course Building and Academic Space Management, Undergraduate Admissions and Enrollment Management.
According to Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Nieman, having all the services located in one building allows the University to provide more seamless service to students.
“What they see when they walk through shouts ‘premier,’” Nieman said.
Joe Tiesi, senior assistant director and campus visit coordinator, noted that the center is eco-friendly and has a “green” wall of plants that filter the air. The building also has a classroom, formal spaces and informal spaces for students and faculty. In addition, the front desk is now manned by students instead of staff.
“If we’re going to be premier, we have to showcase premier and this building does it, the image does it,” Tiesi said. “There’s a lot to be said about first impressions so when prospective students come and their first impression is ‘Wow, look at this building,’ it’s a good way to start the visit.”
According to Tiesi, the new building is also a resource for students to ask questions about the school, as attendants are available at the desk to help any current or prospective students.
“We wanted to be more than just admissions; we really wanted to be a place of hospitality,” Tiesi said. “Current students are extremely valuable to us, so we want to make sure that they feel important and welcome as well.”
According to Tiesi and Nieman, the building has more to come. Over the next year, they anticipate adding images of alumni, a video wall and touchscreen TVs.
Randall M-J Edouard, assistant provost and director of admissions, said that he hopes to get as much out of this building as possible through its classrooms and new presentation room.
“It’s so important because this building represents a vision of the University and a vision of the president, which is to build structures and to make sure that we have appropriate spaces that speak to what we’re all about, which is excellence,” Edouard said.
Edouard read President Harvey Stenger’s remarks on his behalf, who had to cancel his speech for a last-minute visit to Long Island. The speech stated that the center will serve as a “one-stop shop for students and families,” that centralized offices that were previously separated.
“May this building attract not only great students,” Stenger wrote. “But also great successes for the entire University.”
Andrew Loso, senior double-majoring in history and Spanish, said that the Admissions Building acts as the face of the University.
“I think that if we are looking to be premier, premier has to happen everywhere,” Loso said. “The students are really the driving force, and this is where it starts.”