With shovels in their hands and smiles on their faces, College leaders and donors broke ground on Siena’s newest academic building, Richard and Joan Rosetti Hall.
“We get to bring three significant departments in our School of Liberal Arts together – sociology, social work and education,” said Siena College President Fr. Kevin Mullen ’75, O.F.M., Ph.D.
Rosetti Hall, designed by Sacco + McKinney Architects, PC, and built by MLB Construction Services, LLC, is Siena’s first LEED certified construction project, which means that it will contain practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. Rosetti Hall will have a geothermal heating and cooling system, photo-voltaic solar panels and LED lighting. A special collaboration with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will allow Siena to install the most efficient lighting fixtures commercially available.
The building will include high-tech classrooms, seminar and meeting rooms, study areas and 29 offices and computer labs, all features designed to increase collaboration and student engagement and better prepare future sociologists, social workers and teachers to enter the workforce.
“Students will be working in very close proximity with their faculty all the time and next to classrooms that are very well equipped and have technology that the faculty need to use,” said School of Liberal Arts Dean Ralph Blasting, Ph.D.
“It gives us a chance to use interactive white boards, SMART Boards and video technology, “said Associate Professor of Education Mark Jury, Ph.D.
Aspiring teachers said diversifying their skill sets will make them better educators.
“I think it makes us more comfortable with the technology that we’re going to be using and just gives us the chance to have our own building,” said Emily Casey ’14.
Rosetti Hall will be equipped with a video production studio and editing suite that will allow social work students to record and produce interactions with mock clients and receive feedback from their professors.
“We evaluate not only their demonstration of their skills, but their ability to analyze where they are in their professional skill development,” said Associate Professor of Social Work Carla Sofka, Ph.D.
The Class of 2012 set a Senior Gift record by raising more than $16,000 to finance a lounge in Rosetti Hall, but the $6.9 million dollar building wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of Capital Region business leaders Richard and Joan Rosetti.
“I’m really happy to be able to give this legacy to my children, my granddaughter. It is something that will be in our family forever,” said Joan Rosetti.
The Rosettis made the lead gift for the project because of their family’s connection to Siena College. They have two children and a granddaughter who graduated from the College. Richard also has cousins who graduated and a cousin who is currently a professor at Siena.
“I have a tie with Siena. I live in the community and I thought it was a good thing to do for Siena and the community,” Richard Rosetti said.
“To have his grandchildren here to be able to see that his hard work has paid off and that he can do that, I think it makes him really happy,” said Richard’s daughter Jacqueline Rosetti-Falvey ’84.
The Rosetti family’s connection to the College dates back decades.
“I can’t imagine that 60 years ago, my grandfather would be pounding nails that hold together Siena Hall and today my parents would be donating enough money to build a whole building. I thought to myself, this is the American dream come true,” said Richard G. Rosetti ’87.
The dream will become a reality when Richard and Joan Rosetti Hall opens next September.
