College breaks ground on Center for Technology + Creativity

By: Andrew Mees, Director of Institutional Communications and Campaign Marketing                    communications@bloomfield.edu

Distinguished guests and members of the College community came together on Oct. 16 to mark the beginning of a new era for Bloomfield’s Division of Creative Arts & Technology (CAT), as the institution officially broke ground on its new Center for Technology + Creativity in a special midday ceremony.

Bloomfield Board of Trustees Chairman Bill Turner, College President Richard Levao, Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Tresmaine Grimes and division chairperson Nancy Bacci rang in the special occasion with remarks highlighting the new building’s impact on not only one of the school’s signature programs, but on the entire institution.

“The new CAT building brings this signature College program to the geographical heart of the campus,” said Levao. “It will combine cutting-edge computer and other electronic technology to multiple areas of the arts, including music, video and game development. It also offers a closer relationship between the artistically creative faculty and student members of our community with our art gallery, where their work can be displayed for all students and the public to enjoy as well.”

Located on Liberty Street, the project will renovate Bloomfield’s previous Student Center into a 26,100-square-foot space complete with labs for disciplines including video game design, animation and music technology. Set for completion prior to the Fall 2016 semester, the new building will also house a green screen filming studio, a black box studio and a painting studio among other features, bringing the latest in creative technology to young artists’ fingertips.

Offering undergraduate students tracks leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree in animation, digital video, game development, music technology, graphics for print & digital media and interactive multimedia & worldwide web, Bloomfield’s CAT division has added a new Bachelor of Science major in game programming for the 2015-2016 academic year, combining traditional creative arts coursework with computer science and mathematics offerings.

“The new construction provides CAT with the opportunity to design the space with the curriculum in mind, and at the same time address the necessity of its being flexible and able to adapt to emerging technologies,” Bacci said of the new building. “This is a dream come true for the our program. Although we love being in the Westminster Arts Center with its beautiful architecture, having a space that is built to handle our high-tech needs means that the program can continue to be innovative and forward-looking.”

To learn more about the new Center for Technology + Creativity, visit bloomfield.edu/about-us/center-technology-knowledge-creativity. For more information about Bloomfield’s Division of Creative Arts & Technology, visit bloomfield.edu/academics/degrees-programs/creative-arts-technology.

© Bloomfield College 467 Franklin St. Bloomfield, NJ 07003 973-748-9000