LAW SCHOOL EXPANSION
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Western New England College has unveiled the latest addition to campus, a $5.5 million expansion and renovation of the S. Prestley Blake Law Center, home to the College's School of Law. College President Anthony S. Caprio joined with members of the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and students for a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Tuesday, September 16 to mark the project's completion.
"From the very beginning of the history of this College in 1919, known then as Springfield -Northeastern, the School of Law has played an important role in the development of what we know today to be the hallmark of Western New England: a dynamic institution with faculty who are experts in their fields and skilled as teachers, and talented staff who are dedicated to making this College great," said Caprio.
The expanded Law Center includes a new 10,500-square-foot wing and entrance that provides a gateway to the rest of the campus. The entrance, with its soaring marble pillars, leads to a two-story lobby that serves as a primary gathering space for students and the hosting of Law Center events. "This Law School is a dynamic place; new ideas march through its halls with breathtaking pace," said Dean Arthur R. Gaudio. "We needed an equally dynamic venue where professors and visiting scholars could present those ideas to collected groups of students and faculty."
Besides the new addition, the biggest change students and visitors will notice is the restructured law library, which now extends to all three floors of the Law Center. Along with the new space comes a new user-friendly way of accessing library materials, with patrons able to take most books out of the library area and into any part of the Law Center. "You can go in and out of the library and into the Law School at any level," said Gaudio. "The Law Library is now as large as the entire Law School building." Western New England College School of Law is one of only a few schools in the country to try this cutting edge approach to access. Materials must still be checked out to leave the building, with sensors at the exits to the building monitoring the library's collection.
The project saw the reconfiguration of several classrooms, creating smaller, more intimate learning environments. "We have always known that legal education is an interactive experience, and that smaller class sizes provide more opportunities for the exchange between students as well as with their faculty," said Caprio. While many law schools feature classes of 80, 90, or even 100 students, Western New England College School of Law has grouped first-year students into sections of 50 students. "It is something that is, without question, better for legal education - the opportunity for a student to interact better with a professor and fellow students," said Gaudio. The renovation of the Law Center also includes the addition of several seminar and study rooms, where small classes or groups of students can meet.
During the 15 month construction period, the College undertook a major upgrade to the technology infrastructure, providing wireless internet access throughout the building. Technology upgrades extend to the recently renovated J. Gerard Pellegrini Moot Court Room, where students gain valuable litigation skills. Student lawyers will have the ability to submit and display evidence electronically and review their performance on recordings made using state-of-the-art audio, video, and computer equipment. The Moot Court Room has been named to honor Pellegrini, a 1957 graduate of the School of Law and longtime adjunct professor. An accomplished trial lawyer, Pellegrini is a former president of the Hampden County Bar Association and founded the Springfield-based firm of Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley, P.C.
The Law Center expansion created new space to house the Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship, which had operated in rented space off campus. A cooperative effort between the Schools of Law and Business, the Law and Business Center fosters new business development by offering entrepreneurs practical consultation by graduate business and law students.
The School of Law project is the most ambitious capital project undertaken as part of Transformations: The Campaign for Western New England College. The largest fundraising effort in the College's history concluded June 30, raising more than $23 million, far surpassing its $20 million goal. The Law School expansion was awarded an $800,000 challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation. The names of benefactors to the project are listed on a Donor Recognition Wall in the Law School lobby.