Governor Rell: More Than $12 Million

for WCSU Fine Arts Building

            Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that $12,192,000 to fund the design of a new 169,112 square foot Fine and Performing Arts Building on the Westside Campus at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) in Danbury is expected to gain approval when the state Bond Commission meets May 30.

“The changes at Western over the past several years have been remarkable, and the good news continues,” Governor Rell said.  “Western is already viewed as a leader in the region's fine arts scene, and this building will further elevate the university’s stature.  We want the young people who will study, learn and grow at Western in the years to come to have the finest facilities to help them reach their goals and realize their dreams.

“At Western and at all of our college campuses, we are constantly striving to raise the bar.  In doing so, we make schools like Western more desirable and more competitive.  Students who graduate from our schools, in turn, become more desirable for area employers.”

The building will feature:

·        An 800-seat concert hall

·        A 500-seat proscenium theatre

·        A 200-seat recital hall

·        A 200-seat studio

·        An art gallery

·        Classrooms

·        Conference rooms

·        Various lab rooms

·        Choral and orchestra rooms

·        52 practice rooms

·        Recording studio

·        Rehearsal rooms

·        Faculty office and support space.

In a November 2, 2007 ceremony in the Student Union at WCSU, Governor Rell signed a bill that dedicates nearly $1 billion to remake the CSU system over the next 10 years.

Recent completed projects at WCSU include:

• In January 2007, Governor Rell cut the ribbon on the $17.8 million, 49,000 square foot Westside Campus Center.  The three-floor building features a cafeteria, fitness center, library, lounges, meeting and conference rooms, student offices and a ballroom facility.
• The $14.8 million Fifth Avenue Parking Garage at WCSU was completed in 2006. 
• The $46.2 million Science Building at the Midtown Campus was completed in 2005.
• In 2004, a new $26 million residence hall and parking garage was completed.

“We realize that Connecticut’s biggest strength is its skilled, trained workforce,” Governor Rell said.  “Ours is the best in the country.  We have reached that status through education.  To maintain that status in the future, we need to be investing in colleges like Western right now.  These students are our future.  They will be the ones who are stimulating the economy and growing jobs in Connecticut for decades to come.  The investments we make in this university now will pay us huge dividends over the long term.”