The University of Scranton is set to open a new building on campus in August of this year.  

The 90,000-square-foot building, located in the 300 block of Madison Avenue, will be named after Robert S. and Marilyn A. Weiss. This is to honor their $10.5 million donation in 2024, which currently remains the single largest donation in University of Scranton history.  

The four-story building will be home to the Department of Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity and Sociology, the Psychology Department, the University of Scranton Small Business Development Center, the University of Sucess, Student Health Services and the Center for Health Education and Wellness.  

Laura Gillette-Mills, architect of the project, said they wanted to design a building that ties into the traditional campus feel at the university, but with a modern edge. The building has design features including glass walls, steel and stone that blend historic features of Scranton's campus buildings into a modern design.

The building also has green friendly features, as it is designed to meet silver Leadership in Energy and Enviromental Design (LEED) certification requirements.  

The building will include an innovation space, and it will serve as a spot for the students as well as the community.  

“Workforce development will really thrive in this space here. It will be fit out with all different touches of technology, from 3D printing to vinyl making, sewing and a wood shop,” Gillette-Mills said.  

The space will also include a sound studio that can be used for podcasting, which students at the university can use as well as the community outside the university.  

As for the classrooms, students can look forward to open spaces with lots of natural light.

“Thats what we were going for. They days of dark, dreary classrooms are gone,” Gillette-Mills said.  

Robert S. and Marilyn A. Weiss Hall will also feature an outside garden, with seating available for students and faculty. On the other side of the building, there will be a prayer garden, and adjacent to that will be a prayer room. There will be high planters and low planters, with spaces for solitude and reflection. The prayer garden and prayer room is open for all, no matter which religion they identify with.

The space will include benches; however, the furniture is rearrangeable for students and faculty to move around in accordance with their faith.

The new building will serve as a research space as well.  

Dr. Michael Jenkins, chair of the criminal justice, cybersecurity and sociology department said the research spaces for the different disciplines in the building have a lot to offer.  

“One of the psychology research spaces will be a space for a faculty member who researches child growth and development, and there’s a space there that will be a play space, so she can observe them in a natural setting,” Jenkins said.  

Jenkins said there will also be a crime scene space, where students who are taking criminal justice, cybersecurity and forensic chemistry courses can go in and get hands-on learning experiences.  

“There will be mocked up crime scenes and students can look for the types of evidence they are being trained to find,” Jenkins said.  

The education department is also going to have features that will enhance learning for the students and make it more engaging.  

“The education classroom is also meant to be flexible with moveable furniture so that it reflects different learning spaces and the courses students are taking, and we get to teach our students how to use that space,” Jenkins said.  

Jenkins said to be able to move into the facility is exciting.  

“Our faculty being able to work in this space with our students, and to be able to bring people in from the community in the spaces is really going to be a point of pride for us,” Jenkins said.  

The Student Health Services will also have a home in the building. It will have 10 exam rooms and is connected to the Center for Health Education and Wellness. Gillette-Mills said this department is here to serve all students on campus.  

Robert S. and Marilyn A. Weiss Hall is set for August completion and to have its official opening in the fall semester.  

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