Photo / Fred Field
Marie Hansen, dean of the College of Business and New England School of Communications at Husson University, is a 2021 Mainebiz Woman to Watch honoree.
Updated: August 27, 2021
Husson marks new chapter with state-of-the-art College of Business building
Courtesy / Husson University
Harold Alfond Hall is the new home of Husson University's College of Business, in Bangor.
Days before the start of fall semester at Husson University, the school on Thursday marked the official opening of its new, $17.5 million College of Business building in Bangor.
The new Harold Alfond Hall, located at 62 Kagan Drive on the school's flagship campus, is named for the philanthropist and late founder of Dexter Shoe Co. Harold Alfond, whose eponymous foundation donated $4 million in 2017.
The building's experiential learning facilities are state-of-the-art, according to the school.
"Our goal was to create the best possible experiential learning space possible and I can confirm we achieved our objectives," said Marie Hansen, dean of the College of Business and New England School of Communications at Husson and a 2021 Mainebiz Woman to Watch honoree.
"This new building will serve as a lasting and commanding physical monument of the importance the College of Business has had over the past century, and will continue to have for the next 100 years. The College of Business students I have spoken with are exited to begin classes this fall in this new location."
Husson University President Robert A. Clark added that the new building will create important synergies with the regional business community, predicting that it "will be the place where community partnerships are developed that foster economic growth here in Maine."
A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Thursday, a little more than a year after construction began, on a project managed by Sheridan Construction Corp.
Husson embarked on the undertaking after wrapping up its first comprehensive capital campaign that raised $38 million, including the $4 million donation from the Harold Alfond Foundation. The campaign had an original fundraising goal of $21 million.
Facilities inside the new building include a 360-degree configuration with touch screens and stock tickers inside the Ronan Center for Financial Technology, and the iEX Center equipped with an extended reality lab and a control room, devoted to teaching and creating immersive interactive experiences.
Hansen recently told Mainebiz that the virtual reality set-up is unique for New England, giving students the chance to create solutions as opposed to just operating the equipment.
"It's important to be on the cutting edge of technology and really prepare our students for the jobs that don't yet exist," she said. Hansen and seven other Women to Watch will be honored at a Mainebiz reception in Portland on Sept. 17.
The College of Business debut comes just before fall semester classes are due to start on Monday.
While data on the incoming class was not immediately available, a spokesman for the school told Mainebiz that at the end of the fall 2020 semester, 1,250 students were enrolled in various programs at Husson's College of Business.
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