Ozioma Ugboaja, a Business Administration major, is in his first year as a columnist for The Montclarion.
The opening of the Mimi and Edwin Feliciano School of Business marks a new beginning for the business program at Montclair State University. The stark contrast between this new facility and that of Partridge Hall is quite interesting. One can’t help but be impressed with the dramatic physical augmentations that the intangible entity of the business school has taken on in relocating from Partridge to Feliciano.
Most returning Montclair State business students are likely to recall vividly the state of the older school in which they attended classes, met with academic advisors and took critical final exams. Not to say that the conditions were deplorable to the point of repulsion, but to put it simply, it could have been better.
For one, the old facility always seemed somewhat cramped. It was rather common for students to wait outside of classrooms in anticipation of the end of a session, so that they could take their seats prior to the start of their own individual classes. The narrow hallways of Partridge Hall did not help the situation at all. These were the moments in which the narrowness of the halls at Partridge, as well as the cramped areas of the facility, made themselves more evident.
At times, there seemed to be an inadequate amount of space to accommodate the number of students in attendance. The elevator at the central lobby was also incredibly limited in space. It didn’t seem like it was capable of fitting in a significant amount of people with each ascension or descension.
A separate issue with regard to Partridge Hall was that many items seemed rather old and worn out, from the furniture to the water fountains. The streams of water that projected out of some of the fountains were so thin and short that one would prefer to just avoid them all together.
It seems evident that the shortcomings of Partridge Hall as a home for the School of Business at Montclair State did not go unnoticed. No one can deny the significant improvement that the Feliciano School of Business has made in such a short amount of time. Not only is it functional in its capacity to accommodate the multitude of students that attend classes there, but it is also visually appealing. Even President Susan Cole felt it was completely necessary to thank the architect responsible for designing the beautiful building during the Feliciano School of Business ribbon cutting ceremony, along with the donors who supported its construction.
Unlike Partridge Hall, the Feliciano School of Business conforms to the architectural theme that is quite prevalent throughout the university. The interior of the building is incredibly spacious, the classrooms are more up-to-date with a 21st-century feel and the elevators are large and capable of containing a decent amount of people. In addition, the facility contains a mock trade floor along with 35 3-D printers. For students who spend a long portion of their day within the business school, there is also an eatery where they can purchase a good meal at a reasonable price.
The new Business School is indeed an undeniable improvement from the previous one, and Montclair State University puts a lot of effort in to supporting its claim: “It’s All Here.”
