The Board of Trustees Approve Dyson Center Renovation
The Marist Board of Trustees approved massive renovations for the Dyson Center. The renovation is valued at $45 million and will provide students and faculty with dynamic new gathering and learning spaces.
“The Board of Trustees has not yet made a decision on the timing for the start of the Dyson renovation and expansion plan, although the overall design, budget and logistics for the project have been mapped out and have met their approval,” Executive Vice President Dr. Geoffrey L. Brackett said.
The Dyson building finished construction in 1990 and has not undergone large scale renovations since then. Construction for the new Dyson renovations was initially scheduled to begin in the fall of 2019 with a tentative completion date in 2020, but it was delayed.
Marist will focus on using sustainable elements in the overall design of the new renovations because it is part of the college’s larger expansion mission. The size of the Dyson Center will nearly double, going from 60,000 square feet to 110,000 square feet.
“The renovations definitely make me excited because I take a lot of psychology classes for my major and spend a lot of time there,” Tori Mariano ‘24 said. “I also love how there will be more lounge areas and space to do work.”
The expansion will include a new café and lounge on the first floor with tables, chairs and other working options available for the Marist community.The building will also have new multi-purpose collaboration spaces available for student and faculty use.
The renovated building will feature a 155-seat lecture hall with state-of-the-art enhanced acoustic treatments and presentation capabilities. The enhanced technology in the classroom setting will allow for better engagement and will also be used as a venue for guest speakers.
“As a psychology major who has a lot of classes in Dyson, I am really excited to see that it is getting upgraded,” Kaitlyn Hastings ‘24 said. “The lounge is a major plus because I feel like that is something lacking at Marist.”
The building will also become the new home for the school of Management's Student Investment Center which is currently located in the Hancock Center. The investment center will feature a fully functional trading floor and will be located in the atrium so it will have high visibility to visitors and the campus community.
For student convenience and accessibility, the Center for Career Services will be located near the café lounge in the building. The new location was chosen to allow for a more interactive and inviting space for students and faculty.
Renovations will positively impact the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, which houses the College's programs in Criminal Justice, Education, Psychology and Social Work. The building will have a dedicated STEM laboratory classroom for teacher education candidates and maker spaces to support student projects across campus.
The center will also have a new emergency management hub for criminal justice training and research as well as multiple psychology labs.
“I am looking forward to having a dedicated lab space for psychology and cognitive science majors,” Hastings said. “Overall, I am really excited to see what it looks like when the renovations are complete.”
The current Dyson Center will undergo major renovations. Source: Greta Stuckey '23