Students returning to the Bangor university will find the school laying the groundwork for its new College of Business building, due to be completed in about a year.
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As Husson University prepares to welcome students back to campus this month, the Bangor school is also laying the groundwork for its longer-term future with a new College of Business building currently under construction.
Classes are set to resume Monday, Aug. 31, with a mix of in-person and online course offerings, with an emphasis on safe classroom instruction for about 2,900 undergraduate and 800 graduate students.
“We are filling in little details as we continuously monitor the situation,” says Husson University President Robert A. Clark, who has led Husson for more than a decade. Like many institutions, Husson will reopen with new policies around face coverings and physical distancing as well as extra cleaning and sanitizing.
Classrooms will also be adapted to create more learning space, though one school official notes that the average class size of 19 makes physical distancing more manageable. COVID-19 testing will be conducted on a rotation basis under plans developed with community health officials.
“Students overwhelmingly prefer the face-to-face opportunity,” Clark says, “but they also want to know it’s going to be done in a safe and secure environment as much as possible.”
Looking back at the previous semester when the pandemic forced Husson to go to 100% remote learning, Clark says that having the technological tools in place already made for a smooth transition.
“We found that scaling it quickly was probably easier than inventing it or bringing it online in the first place,” he says. “Because of that, we were able to deliver a quality learning experience for the remainder of the semester.” On the recruiting front, it limited on-campus tours to residents of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, and offered virtual tours and 30-minute virtual information sessions for others.
Getting down to business
Already home to Maine’s largest business college, Husson is looking to the building under construction to bolster its reputation as a regional leader in business education. Portland-based Sheridan Construction Corp. is the builder.
The facility is slated to open in fall 2021 with 42,500 square feet of classrooms and offices supported by advanced technology, learning spaces devoted to augmented and virtual reality and a large space for mock trials.
“It will certainly provide our cornerstone program in business with a state-of-the art facility,” says Clark, noting that Hussson is Maine’s biggest provider of MBAs.
He cites the practical nature of Husson’s program as what sets it apart, along with certificate programs in fields from cybersecurity to catering and tailor-made programs for employers including Jackson Laboratory, of Bar Harbor, and Freeport-based manufacturer and retailer L.L.Bean.