State Teachers College became Southern Connecticut State College. For the next 24 years, Southern grew, modernized, and diversified, expanding its undergraduate and graduate programs and opening up entirely new fields of study and research. But March 1983 brought even greater changes: Southern Connecticut State College was rechristened Southern Connecticut State University, and made part of the Connecticut State University System (ConnSCU), along with Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.
Southern Today Today’s Southern is a vibrant, culturally rich and ethnically diverse environment. In addition to its extensive academic offerings, Southern hosts lectures, workshops in literature and dance, art exhibits, performances by professional and student artists, conferences, and institutes on a variety of topics that enrich, instruct, and delight. Through offering courses on part-time, day and evening bases, Southern has been innovative in providing access to a high quality education to a wide range of students. The campus clinics provide diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities and speech, hearing, and reading problems. As a busy university with a strong identity and a rich history, Southern looks ahead to a future as varied, dynamic, responsive, and responsible as its past.
Building for the New Century Southern is in the midst of a major construction program that is transforming campus. The university recently opened a new home for the School of Business, is completing a renovation and expansion of Buley Library that will double the size of the existing building, and has begun construction on a 98,000square-foot, four-level academic and laboratory science building. Both the library and science building projects are scheduled for completion in 2015. Sited adjacent to Jennings Hall, the current home for the sciences, the new building will enhance the
ongoing expansion of Southern’s science programs and the university’s capacity to educate more students in cutting-edge fields such as nanotechnology, biochemistry, and marine science. Other forthcoming projects include a recreation center, a fine arts center, and a new home for the School of Health and Human Services.
Fast Facts about Southern Academics 421 full-time faculty 83 – percentage of full-time faculty with the Ph.D.or other terminal degree 615 part-time faculty 69 undergraduate degree programs 47 graduate degree programs 15:1 – ratio of students to faculty Athletics 8 athletic programs for men 11 athletic programs for women 2 NCAA Division for Southern athletics 10 National NCAA Division II team titles 78 individual championships won by Southern athletes Campus 78 miles to New York City 136 miles to Boston 171 – acres Southern spans 260 – millions of dollars invested in campus renovations 125,000 – square feet in the new Student Center (three times the size of the old one) 6.4 – approximate number of miles from campus to Long Island Sound in West Haven Students 10,804 students at Southern 8,257 undergraduate students 2,547 graduate students 1:1.8 – ratio of male to female students residence halls 2,589 students live on campus 65 campus clubs INTRODUCTION 7