The view from here: First week in Hughes Hall

Stories | Aug 31, 2012 | Nicole Gesualdo

The trading room on the first floor.

They number more than 2,000, and they are the freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors who make up the Gabelli School of Business. A warm welcome to all of them from Dean Rapaccioli! The 2012-2013 year has all the makings of a special one.

So what’s going on in Hughes?

On the first floor, students are using a gigantic new trading room with rows upon rows of Bloomberg terminals and, on the other side of the lobby, kicking it in a lounge with flat-panel TVs.

Underneath them, on the lower level, students are taking courses in two new classrooms — which can be combined into one, using a movable wall, for bigger lectures and events.

Professor Mark Conrad’s students in action.

The second floor is home to even more classrooms, some with tiered rows of seats — and all with the most advanced academic technology, such as Echo360, an audio/video system that can capture and record the full content of a lecture for the benefit of those who aren’t in the classroom.

On floor three, students are using the new honors seminar room, with big windows that overlook the green lawn of Eddie’s Parade. There’s also a new suite devoted to the Personal and Professional Development Center, where students are meeting with career advisors, as well as offices for the directors of international programs and honors opportunities. (Check out the book collection in the global programs office — there’s a good library of Lonely Planets and other travel guides developing in there.)

Your class dean will see you now.

The fourth floor is where a lot of the action is these days. Here you’ll find the class deans, who are registering students for fall courses and helping with last-minute schedule changes. Students sign in to see their deans at a bank of eight iMac computers, then wait in space-age-looking, wide chairs for their names to come up. Today there were free granola bars for those waiting (oatmeal raisin!). Students who needed to see a professor as well could pop upstairs to floor five.

Have you been in Hughes yet? If not, come on by! The Gabelli School of Business welcomes all students, faculty and staff to come see the new space, which is for the benefit of everyone. In the meantime, you can click here to see a quick Hughes photo set on the Gabelli School’s Facebook page.