SCRANTON — Where there is drywall, concrete, steel beams and empty elevator shafts will soon be classrooms, labs, a small-business development center, a space for innovation and a student health center.
Construction continues on Weiss Hall, the center for workforce development, applied research and outreach on the campus of the University of Scranton.
Officials expect the nearly 90,000-square-foot, four-story building in the 300 block of Madison Avenue to be finished in August in time for the fall semester, which begins at the end of that month.
Weiss Hall will be home to the university’s psychology and criminal justice, cybersecurity and sociology departments, the Small Business Development Center, student health services, the Center for Health Education and Wellness, and the University of Success.
As crews worked on the building, officials from the university, HC Architects, the building’s architect, and Quandel Construction, which is handling construction, led members of the media on a tour Friday morning.
The outside of the building, which will mainly be accessible from Madison Avenue, is constructed of brick, stone and steel with glass walls. Laura Gillette-Mills, principal with HC Architects, said it is designed to blend into the campus but have a modern look.
The main lobby of Weiss Hall is viewed from the second floor Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A view of the exterior of Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Matt Bufano, manager of news and media relations for the University of Scranton, takes a tour through Weiss Hall at the school’s campus in Scranton Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Crew members work in the main lobby of Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A portion of Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A view of an exam room in the The Center for Health Education and Wellness in Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A portion of the Departments of Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity and Sociology in Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
People are led on a tour through a classroom in Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Principal Architect Laura Gillette-Mills, of HC Architects, left, leads a tour through Weiss Hall with Mike Miller, assistant superintendent for Quandel, and Michael Jenkins, professor and chair of the Departments of Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity and Sociology on the University of Scranton campus Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Professor and Chair of the Departments of Criminal Justice and Cybersecurity Michael Jenkins discusses a section of the Department of Criminal Justice floor in Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Windows make up the wall of a classroom in Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A view of the interfaith multipurpose room in Weiss Hall at the University of Scranton Friday, April 11, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The first floor will include a student gathering space with bleacher seating, a lounge, student health services — which will include 10 exam rooms — and the Center for Health Education and Wellness. It also will include a 10,000-square-foot innovation space, which will include different forms of technology such as 3D printing, vinyl making, sewing and a woodshop, as well as a sound studio. The space will be open to students and the public.
Gillette-Mills said the first floor will be a double-height atrium space, designed with heavy timber and stone.
The second floor will be home to the Small Business Development Center and University of Success, a program for underprivileged high school students to learn and be engaged in college life. It also will house the department of criminal justice, cybersecurity and sociology, with labs for cybersecurity attack and defense simulations and cyber forensic investigations, a multipurpose room for crime analysis and a space for the university’s mock trial team.
The third floor will have two classrooms, a seminar room, faculty offices and research spaces for the psychology department, as well as a classroom and resource space for the education department, self-care room and a two-way virtual classroom.
On the fourth floor will be a rooftop garden, a multiuse, interfaith prayer room and adjoining prayer garden, as well as classroom spaces that can be outfitted for future growth.
Large windows are on all floors to allow for natural light. The building will include seven classrooms and three computer labs, Gillette-Mills said, as well as breakout spaces with tables and soft seating. It is designed to be environmentally friendly, meeting silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification requirements.
She said the space is designed for the departments and programs housed in it to work together.
“They all really tie together in terms of workforce development,” Gillette-Mills said.
Approximately 60 people will work in the building, she said.
University officials announced the building’s construction in January of last year, with the building costing $44.5 million. Scranton City Council members backed a $65 million financing plan in February the university will undertake through the Scranton-Lackawanna Health and Welfare Authority for the building. Council members approved a resolution in the fall for the city to apply for a $157,500 state grant on behalf of the university to defray the $300,000 cost of tools, equipment and technology in the innovation hub.
In addition, the university secured $16.6 million in federal funds for the project. The building is named for Robert and Marilyn Weiss, who donated a $10.5 million gift to the university, the largest single donation in its history.
Michael Jenkins, the university’s liaison for Weiss Hall and chairman of the criminal justice, cybersecurity and sociology department, said the building will have space to accommodate the university’s growing cybersecurity program. He’s excited for his department to be in the new building.
“To be able to move into this world-class facility that represents the best of where we’ve been and where we can move is really exciting to me,” Jenkins said. “To be able to see our faculty be able to work in these spaces with our students, to be able to bring in people from the community in these spaces is really going to be a point of pride for us.”
James Caffrey, the university’s associate vice president of facilities management, said Weiss Hall is designed to be sustainable and is accessible to the public, with camps and activities.
“There’s great plans for the future,” he said.