New $40 Million Academic Building Opens At William Paterson University

WAYNE, NJ - A modern, $40 million academic building opened at William Paterson University Tuesday. Construction of the building was made possible via $30 million in state funding.

The building is littered with a lot of seating areas and emphasizes the use of natural light coming through the two-story glass facade.

“This new academic building represents a significant step as we seek to revitalize the main instructional facilities on our campus and provide our faculty and students with state-of-the-art teaching, clinical, and research spaces,” said university President Kathleen Waldron.

University Hall will feature 16 classrooms, specialized classrooms and clinical spaces for the university’s nursing, communications disorders, and public health programs, including two patient simulation laboratories, three basic skills labs, and four nursing labs.

The front of the building has a grab-and-go food area and 14 group study rooms. A terrace on the upper level will has outdoor seating and grass will be planted on the adjacent roof.

The university’s Speech and Hearing Clinic, which provides therapeutic services for people diagnosed with communication disorders, features the latest digital monitoring technology and includes 15 therapy rooms and 14 observation rooms.

With University Hall opening six months early, the school will accelerate its plans for renovating two more academic buildings: Hunziker Hall and the hunziker Wing. The former will be completed by the summer of 2017, while the latter is scheduled to be done by the following summer. The projects will add 27 new smart classrooms and the Writing Center, a new space for the English and philosophy departments.

Of the building’s $40 million cost, $30 million came in from the state Building Our Future Bond Act.

Photo: The front of the new University Hall at William Paterson University/William Paterson University