Press Releases

September 30, 1998
New Academic Center To Be Dedicated September 25th

Laura and Robert F.X. Sillerman to Unveil Plaque Naming the Building

Contact:
Jane Finalborgo
(516) 287 8313
Fax: (516) 283 4081

Southampton, NY -- The new $10 million academic center at Southampton College of Long Island University will be formally dedicated in ceremonies beginning at 4:30 p.m., Friday, September 25. Chancellor Robert F.X. Sillerman and his wife Laura Baudo Sillerman, who donated $2.5 million to the project, will unveil a plaque naming the 38,000-square-foot building. David Steinberg, University president, will attend along with members of the University Board of Trustees, the College Council of Overseers, faculty, students, alumni, friends and various state and local officials.

Following the plaque unveiling and ribbon cutting, the Eastern Long Island Police Pipes & Drums will lead a bagpipe processional through the building which is located in the northeastern section of the 110-acre campus on the east side of the Academic Quadrangle.

The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects of New York with Paul Broches, FAIA, as partner-in-charge. The firmıs notable works include IBM's Advanced Business Institute, the Virginia Air and Space Center and Volvo International Headquarters in Sweden. The academic center was designed to be an integral part of the College Master Plan, also formulated by Mitchell/Giurgola, for the physical redevelopment of the campus.

The building is both environmentally sensitive and highly functional. The use of copper wall cladding and cedar wood soffits will allow the building to age naturally while sweeping lines integrate the building into the landscape. Imaginative uses of natural light and color as well as the use of insulating glass and sun shades conserve energy and create beautiful vistas. Care was also taken to preserve the wide variety of tree species around the building.

Included in the building are six classrooms, four state-of-the-art laboratories, the academic dean's suite, 15 faculty offices, studios for WPBX FM, Long Islandıs Public Radio, and the 150-seat Angier Biddle Duke Memorial Lecture Hall, named for the College's first Chancellor.

Through the combined efforts of the builder, Racanelli Construction Company, Inc. of Melville, NY, the project manager, Macro-Gorton Associates, and the architects, the building was completed on time and under budget. Construction began in June 1997, and the building opened, as scheduled, in time for the start of classes this fall.

The project includes a new entrance to the campus off Tuckahoe Road, and a quarter-mile internal campus roadway. The academic center will greatly enhance the College's academic curriculum and accommodate the latest technological innovations for teaching and communications. The three new science laboratories will provide the latest equipment for the College's nationally recognized Marine and Environmental Sciences programs.

All classrooms and seminar rooms have advanced wiring and cabling to facilitate easy access to the information highway while promoting the integration of computer and multi-media technology into the academic process. The Duke Lecture Hall and reception area will be used extensively by both the College and the greater community, and will be the site for the World Affairs Council lecture series, founded by Ambassador Duke. The Social Science and Education Division offices will also be housed in the building.

"This is an exciting time for the College," said Provost Tim Bishop. "We expect the building to be a tremendous asset to our students and faculty and to the entire community."

The building is the first major construction on the campus since 1985 and is the cornerstone of the master plan for development to make the college's physical campus as strong as its academic programs. The next phase will include construction of a new student center and the retrofitting of the former student center (Wood Hall) as a new library.