NYU’s College of Arts & Science opened its new hub for students and faculty at 25 W. Fourth St. last week. The six-floor site offers classrooms, offices and communal spaces as the first building designated exclusively to the university’s largest school.
The building’s basement is dedicated to classrooms, the second and fifth floors to advising services, the third floor to the University Learning Center, the fourth floor to deans’ offices and the sixth floor to the CAS Academic Achievement Program. Each floor also houses a common area with large tables, couches and other areas for students to study.
John Burdick, the associate dean for student success at CAS, told WSN that he appreciated the permanent space after relocating over the past few years. Burdick said that by consolidating the college’s resources, students would have more convenient access to advising and tutoring services.
“It’s one building dedicated exclusively for CAS students,” Burdick said. “If you’re a CAS student, all of the services that you’ll need will be in this building.”
CAS offices were previously headquartered on the Silver Center’s ninth floor, before moving to the seventh floor at 726 Broadway, which staff members said was not suitable. In an interview with WSN, CAS Administrative Aide Kimberly Pedraza said the old location had felt like a “makeshift space to do work.”
“A lot of the cubicles were out of order — things were not organized,” Pedraza said. “So it’s nice to be in a spot where everything has a home.”
Izzy Benner, president of the CAS Student Council, agreed that the new building was more spacious and allowed staff to better organize their space. Benner added that she was able to work with more students at once, as opposed to sharing smaller desks with several staff members at the 726 Broadway location.
Benner and Pedraza noted the new space’s centralized location and its proximity to other academic buildings compared to their previous offices next to the NYU Bookstore. Situated directly across from the Stern School of Business, the building is around a block away from several other university buildings including Bobst Library, the Silver Center and the Kimmel Center for University Life.
Both administrators and students also said they appreciated the space’s new amenities, such as gender-neutral bathrooms and larger waiting areas for advising appointments. In interviews with WSN, staff and students also highlighted the abundance of natural light.
“I’m still really stuck on these windows,” CAS senior and AAP staffer Elliot Weinbaum Suárez told WSN. “Lighting was not easy in the old buildings.”
Since its founding in 1892, CAS has been centralized at the Silver Center. While the school will continue to hold classes in the building, the relocation of research laboratories has opened space on its ninth floor.
While the new CAS building has been almost entirely redesigned for accessibility and modernity, it preserved columns and granite from the original building. According to the CAS website, 25% of the building’s materials are reused and its facilities could qualify it for an LEED Gold certification — the second-highest ranking in a system that evaluates buildings’ sustainability practices and infrastructure.
“More and more students are in here every day,” Burdick said. “It’s really exciting to finally be in our new permanent home.”
Contact Amanda Chen and Lekhya Kantheti at [email protected].
