Hartford Business Journal

19 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 23, 2021 Make cash flow more smooth and rough patches less rough. bankatpeoples.com/businessteam Our Cash Management team is dedicated to providing you with advanced and flexible cash management solutions to meet your business needs and objectives - today and tomorrow. sponsoring an Internet of Things lab at the new building that will be equipped with smart technology capabilities, giving UHart students hands-on training with sensors and other related technology. The new facility also created a path for the school to offer two new programs: exercise science and occupational therapy, according to Thompson. The University of St. Joseph's newly renovated and expanded Center for Nursing Excellence will grow the school's lab space and move toward simulation learning, Free said. For example, the school will now offer students learning on high-fidelity manikins, which can mimic human body functions, like breathing, heart palpitations and a pulse rate. Health care, however, is not the only growing program at the school, Free said, adding that USJ has also had an increase in students interested in athletics or fitness. To meet this demand, the school spent about $16.2 million to renovate and expand its O'Connell Athletic Center that will double in size to 31,000 square feet. Funding strategies The colleges have taken various routes to fund their projects, but they are each tapping into the bond market. UHart is mostly funding its campus construction projects via a 30-year public debt offering. The remainder was funded through donations and industry partners like Hartford Steam Boiler, Stanley Black & Decker, Hartford HealthCare, and Pratt & Whitney, the college said. There is also a $2 million pledge for an endowment gift to cover future expenses related to the new building. Wesleyan's science center will be funded through green bonds, donations and money the school put aside over the years that was invested and grew to about $60 million, according to Roth. "That helped us have confidence to go to the bond market knowing that we were building up our reserves," Roth said. "And given the low interest rate environment, it made sense to put money in the endowment and borrow at a very low interest rate." The college has also been fundraising for the projects, which has been exceeding expectations, Roth said. The University of St. Joseph's athletic center was primarily funded with bonds through the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, and its Center for Nursing Excellence was funded by gifts from trustees, alumni and friends of the university, according to the school. And USJ is not stopping there. Michael Roth Free said that in a few months, another $3 million project to construct new labs for the pharmacy program, which is relocating from downtown Hartford's XL Center to the school's main West Hartford campus, is set to begin. The project is expected to be completed by next summer. The Francis X. and Nancy Hursey Center for Advanced Engineering and Health Professions at the University of Hartford is expected to debut this month. The Wesleyan University campus in Middletown. RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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