By Caleb Tobin
Stonehill College will soon begin the process of being reclassified as a regional university, according to a presentation at the State of the Hill event.
"Stonehill will become a regional university, and in many ways we already are," said Peter Ubertaccio, vice president for academic affairs.
“After you graduate 50 graduate students, there is an official process that the Carnegie Foundation uses to reclassify institutions as a college or university, and we will hit 50 graduate students very likely this year,” Ubertaccio said, "It's a multi-year process, so at some point in the future, you will see us in various rankings that are going to look different than where we are today by virtue of the changes we made five years ago, there's just this lagging indicator."
Ubertaccio said Stonehill College will not change its name if it achieves university status, saying “There are many institutions that are technically universities that use the word college.”
The reclassification process was just one topic discussed at the State of the Hill event held by the Student Government Association. Leaders of the College gave updates on academics, athletics, and an overview of the next five-year strategic plan. The strategic plan will begin on July 1, 2025.
Part of the plan includes building a new basketball and ice hockey arena located across the street, to the left of The Farm.
“We’re going to be entering a pretty significant fundraising campaign to do that and bring our ice hockey teams onto campus,” said Pauline Burke, vice president for student affairs.
Draft design concepts are available for those who want to view them. The Summit has requested a copy of the plans from the College.
Big changes are also coming to The Commons for the Fall 2025 semester. The dining hall will be getting a facelift with new floors, furniture, and changes to the serving area.
The Commons had received some minor changes over the summer, but the College didn’t have enough time to do a full renovation.
“The building, I think, was built in 1990 and that's the same original floor, so the tile is going to come up in The Commons where you sit. That should look all new and refreshed,” Burke said.
Changing the layout of the serving area is also being discussed, with possibilities including a “cook your own” area and moving the salad bar to where the dessert table currently is.
Leaders are also looking at shifting the entrance area to a different location. Many students have complained about the line at the entrance backing up down the stairwell and into the downstairs hallway.
“Instead of entering from the side, if you were to go and walk in the upstairs entrance to the left is the commuter lounge. There are currently offices there. Does that create a new opportunity to think differently about the spaces?” Burke said.
These plans are still in the works, and nothing is final yet.
Students also raised questions about the large freshman class and if there are concerns about housing capacity. This year’s freshman class was one of the largest in Stonehill’s history at 768 students, according to Vice President of Enrollment Management Scott Seseske.
Residence Life Director Arianna Gulbis said the College would possibly use temporary triples again, but that the College currently has enough housing.
“Current students that are here will be able to go through housing selection as you would have in previous years with even smaller class sizes. So, there is housing, we may just have to utilize that temporary triple,” she said.
“Temporary triple” refers to putting three students into a dorm, compared to the standard two students per dorm room.
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