Lighting the way of scholarship and a path to the future through new facilities to form tomorrow’s leaders
With outstanding faculty and students eager to grow academically, spiritually and personally, Assumption has established itself as a leading academic institution. In order to maintain and advance this tradition of excellence, the University has constructed a new state-of-the-art learning facility that encourages creative thinking, the sharing of ideas and collaboration across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines, reflecting the University’s deep commitment to the liberal arts and the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Open since September 2017, the Tsotsis Family Academic Center has transformed teaching and learning at Assumption while providing a distinct learning environment to attract and enlighten students.
The Center serves as a tangible example of the education one receives at Assumption University: an education that forms the whole person and integrates the liberal arts with professional programs. The new academic building contributes to the broader community and is a visible manifestation of the centrality of the intellectual life of a campus and the institution’s mission. It fosters lively engagement both within and outside of the classroom through spaces and places conducive to interaction, conversation, dialogue and debate as well as open up brand new possibilities of learning. It serves as the personification of the academic endeavor that is the heart and soul of the University.
The new building reflects a style that is more traditional and classical yet at the same time contemporary, echoing Assumption’s melding of the timeless ideals of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and liberal arts with contemporary pedagogical practices aimed at the on-going search for the truth. The University has constructed a building that houses the business studies department and signature programs grounded in our liberal arts tradition, such as the Honors Program and SOPHomore Initiative at Assumption College (SOPHIA) as well as the Jeanne Y. Curtis Auditorium to showcase Assumption College’s performing arts. Integration of the visual and performing arts with academic disciplines such as business studies and the humanities demonstrates the University’s commitment to, and the value of, educating the whole person.
To accommodate the University’s growing conference services endeavors, a ballroom on the top floor of the new building, complete with a balcony overlooking a beautifully manicured plaza, provides modern meeting and dining spaces. These spaces, the perfect venues for conferences and gatherings, generate new sources of revenue for Assumption.
Lighting the way to a new type of education through state-of-the-art 21st century classrooms
Today’s Assumption student attends class with more than a notebook and pen; they are equipped with laptops, tablets and other electronic devices that connect them to a vast wealth of information beyond the confines of the classroom. To accommodate this new digital frontier and allow an Assumption education to reach its full potential, faculty and students must have access to the latest technology and an infrastructure that sufficiently supports their needs.
The Academic Center’s thirteen new classrooms demonstrate the University’s commitment to preparing tomorrow’s thinkers and leaders. Fully equipped with USB ports and outlets for charging devices as well as a wireless Internet network, the new building also features the latest in video-conferencing equipment that allows students to expand their reach and learn over long distances, while preparing them to use this technology in their modern workplace.
Even the layout of the new building’s classrooms reflects modern and forward-thinking practices. The business world, as well as many other industries Assumption graduates seek employment in, has shifted away from impersonal grids of solitary cubicles to professional communities of peer collaboration. Taking inspiration from this change in focus, the classrooms in the new building are adaptable, allowing faculty to encourage collaborative teaching methods and learning, preparing students for the professional environments where they will leave their mark.
