Bulletin News
03/17/2010
When the renovations are completed to Studio West in Spring 2011, the facility and its new, two-story addition will be known as the Professional Studies Building, the President’s Cabinet decided at its March 15 meeting.
According to College policy enacted in January 2009, the name change will become effective on July 1, 2010. The new name will subsequently appear in all College publications, communications, on the Web site and on signage.
John Cottone, interim dean of the School of Professional Studies and School of Education, suggested renaming the entire facility that will house four of the six academic departments with the School of Professional Studies.
“Studio West was remodeled in the 1990s to serve as campus surge space for displaced departments and offices and wasn’t considered an academic building,” said Cottone. “Now it provides a physical identity for the School of Professional Studies, so it is most appropriate that the building’s name reflect that.
“In our extensive planning, we took great care to create an engaging learning environment for our students and, in doing so, to take our academic programs to a new level. The Professional Studies Building will be a showcase for our school.”
Four departments will be housed within it: Communication Disorders and Sciences; Kinesiology, Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies; and Sport Management. The two other academic departments in the school are housed elsewhere, the Health Department will remain in the Moffett Center and the Physical Education Department will be the sole academic department in the Park Center.
Constructed in 1948, the 50,000 square-foot Studio West began as the home to the Overhead Door Co. for many years. In 1968, SUNY Cortland wanted to relocate its maintenance operation from Old Main, so the College purchased the facility. Four years later, the maintenance operation moved to its present location near Route 281, but the building continued to be used by the grounds crew as storage space.
In the mid-1970s, the Art and Art History Department moved its studio arts faculty and classrooms from the Dowd Fine Arts Center to Studio West and, in fact, gave the building its name. In the mid-1980s, studio arts moved to the basement of Old Main.
The aged Studio West remained a storage area but its leaky roof limited its use. In 1994, the Construction Fund allocated $3.2 million for the rehabilitation of Studio West. Design work commenced and the actual construction, started in 1996, was completed ahead of schedule in March 1998.