At its January 30 meeting, the State Bond Commission approved a $39 million allocation--the largest ever in the history of the college--to bond the renovation of Founders Hall.

Founders Hall is the original home of Waterbury State Technical College when it was established in 1964, a building with much history and beloved by many of the college’s founding faculty and alumni.

President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D., described the commission’s approval as “a powerful event.”  The President noted that, “The College’s allied health programs are outstanding and deserve more support and better space. The proposed project will have the entrance of our new Center for Health Sciences face the rest of the campus, providing an east campus anchor and a sense of powerful completion.” President De Filippis cited the Governor’s understanding of the significance that NVCC’s Allied Health and Nursing programs have in the region and thanked him for his “vision and continued support.”

Buoyed by the optimism that comes with this financial support, the College will begin to build and equip the new allied health center with a planned opening in the spring of 2017. The 85,000-square-foot building will house four NVCC credit allied health programs:  nursing, radiation technology, physical therapist assistant, respiratory therapy and all non-credit allied health programs.

The center will feature a lecture hall with stadium seating to accommodate 125 and a multi-purpose room to seat up to 320 which can be divided into three sub-rooms which for use by the entire college and community. NVCC, WestConn, and UConn will share space. Classrooms may also to be used by other programs of the College.

Representative Jeff Berger stated, “I am both enthusiastic and proud of the positive growth of NVCC and its continued commitment to providing ground breaking educational opportunities. I thank the Governor and the legislature for their ongoing support of NVCC and the entire community college system. This 39 million dollars will provide for the renovation of Founders Hall into a state-of-the-art facility for Allied Health and Nursing.”

Reflecting on the planning and approval processes, President De Filippis commented that, “There are so many to be thanked for this significant step in the history of our beloved NVCC:  the faculty, staff and students in our wonderful Allied Health and Nursing programs, Provost Troup’s diligence in guiding the planning process, Governor Dannel Malloy and our State legislative delegation, in particular, Representative Jeff Berger’s leadership and, of note, the support of Senator Hartley and Representative Theresa Conroy, our CT Board of Regents and System Office colleague, Keith Epstein, V.P. for Facilities.”