West Campus

Sacred Heart University's West Campus–the former world headquarters of General Electric, in Fairfield, Connecticut–provides approximately 66 acres, 550,000 square feet of building space and 800 additional parking spaces. 

West Campus: SHU's Center of Innovation

Located down the street from SHU's main campus at 3135 Easton Turnpike, Fairfield, the new West Campus serves as the campus of innovation, providing expansion for the College of Education & Human Development, the College of Business & Technology and the School of Computer Science & Engineering. Facilities include state-of-the-art labs specifically designed to support research on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics, financial computation, machine learning, augmented reality/virtual reality and e-game design. 

The West Campus is currently split into three buildings: the West Building, East Building and Guest House, which is a 28-bed hotel and conference center.

World-Class Facilities

Farrington College of Education & Human Development

West Campus is home to Sacred Heart’s College of Education & Human Development. Teacher preparation courses take place in the West Building, along with all graduate and doctoral-level educational leadership courses. Additionally, industry-specific conferences are held in the Guest House. West Campus is home to Sacred Heart’s visiting Fulbright Scholars, Institute for Play Therapy and Expressive Arts Education and Research and Teacher Leader Fellowship Academy as well the following programs:

School of Social Work

Located in the West Building, Sacred Heart’s School of Social Work is housed on West Campus. Students gather in the Social Work Suite; utilize classrooms for undergraduate and graduate courses as well as seminars; and make use of workspaces dedicated to graduate assistants, work studies and the Student Social Work Club. Additionally, West Campus provides a perfect venue for social work events, such as graduate recruitment events in the Atrium and community partner recognition events at the Guest House. The School of Social Work offers undergraduate (BSW and minor), graduate (MSW) and Ph.D. programs in social work.

Welch College of Business & Technology

Home to the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology, the East Building on West Campus provides approximately 45,000 square feet of academic space and faculty offices, including the finance lab, student incubator space and artificial intelligence lab. In addition to innovative programs in cybersecurity, business analytics, game design & development and more, the WCBT houses the School of Computer Science & Engineering.

Verizon & SHU Innovation Center

SHU has entered into an agreement with Verizon for the creation, management and operation of iHub, an innovative coworking space. This innovation community will draw on SHU faculty, staff, students and other resources to build an academic-focused environment that attracts local startups, entrepreneurs, corporations and other forward-thinking organizations and individuals. SHU will also establish a Student Concierge Service that members can use as a resource for making connections with various University programs, internships, recruiting, events, speaker sessions, office hours and mentoring.

IDEA Lab

The IDEA Lab is an 11,000-square-foot prototyping lab that facilitates a transdisciplinary, problem-based, community-engaged innovation environment through digital fabrication and advanced manufacturing. Capabilities include desktop and commercial 3D printing, laser cutters, CNC systems along with characterization and assembly studio spaces and motion capturing capabilities for robots and drones.

NeXReality Lab

The NeXReality Lab is a University-wide resource promoting faculty and student research and immersive learning opportunities in virtual reality, augmented reality and extended reality (VR/AR/EX). The lab features more than 30 VR headsets, 3D scanners, 180/360 cameras, MR headsets, high-end computers and audio recording gear and a suite of applications to support these devices.

The cutting-edge technology allows our students and faculty to explore rapid prototyping, game development for both AR and VR, 360 recording and research opportunities. NeXReality Lab provides ongoing networking, coaching, mentoring, training, educational seminars and other related services on a range of VR/AR topics, as well as equipment rental.

Artificial Intelligence Lab

The AI lab contains 40 computers with advanced processing capabilities and dedicated servers for students and faculty research. The lab includes object recognition equipment and state-of-the-art eye trackers.

Under the general term of artificial intelligence, we started using our AI Lab in the collaborative effort to tackle many new and arising problems in our modern world, and use modern tools and methodologies, including data analytics, machine learning, computational intelligence, financial technology and many others to collectively drive the contemporary run into digital revolution. We collaborate with many other SHU departments, such as finance, business analytics, accounting and information systems, nursing, physical training, health sciences, philosophy and athletics, to name a few. Our biggest strength in AI Lab is to provide on-premise resources that ensure safe generation and secured storage of AI datasets, with the capability to expand into larger-scale cloud-based AI infrastructures when needed.

Cybersecurity Lab

SHU’s 1,300-square-foot Cybersecurity Lab provides a collaborative and hands-on learning environment to simulate cyber threats, design responses and defense strategies. The lab is used to support education, research, training and community outreach in cybersecurity and privacy.

Features:

  • 40 workstations with contemporary technologies such as Virtualization (VirtualBox, VMware), security software - Forensic Toolkit (FTK), Password Recovery Toolkit (PRTK), Fortigate-60D UTM and Wireshark.
  • Capabilities to isolate the entire lab from the SHU network and the Internet for cyber exercises such as malware analysis and penetration testing.
  • A dedicated server room supporting a floor-to-ceiling technology rack including Network Attached Storage (NAS), Domain Servers, Network Switches and Firewalls to run the lab.

Finance Lab

The finance lab is a state-of-the-art teaching and research facility that bridges the gap between financial theory and analytics. As one of the centerpieces of the Welch College of Business & Technology, the finance lab provides first-hand exposure to financial concepts such as trading, portfolio construction, financial intelligence and risk management. It includes 13 Bloomberg Financial Terminals and an LCD ticker-tape display which provides a continuous stream of real time market information from the NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange.

Problem-Based Learning Lab

The Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Lab is an experiential learning space designed to expose students to real-world business problems requiring real-time applied solutions. Students work with local businesses on real projects in roles ranging from consulting to marketing, analysis, branding, product development and more. Learn more by visiting our .

Student Incubator Space

The Student Incubator Space provides technical and advisory support to student-led startups. The Welch College of Business & Technology assists students in funding start-ups. Companies like Nantucket Buckets (a custom hat company) and Twin Tides (a preppy clothing store similar to Vineyard Vines) have successfully started from the Incubator program.

Jack Welch Event & Conference Center

Sacred Heart University offers meeting and conference spaces in the former General Electric executive suites.

Additional West Campus Facilities & Services

Dance Studio

Members of the SHU Dance Program use this space for dance classes and rehearsal.

Innovative Academic and Study Spaces

West Campus includes dozens of new classrooms with state-of-the-art equipment, comfortable furniture and data capturing software, as well as plenty of space for students to study and relax between classes.

Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL)

Located on the second floor of the West Campus West Building, the SHU CTL provides tutoring and academic support for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as instructional development for faculty and staff. The Center's values include advocating for inclusion, equity, and access for all community members; prioritizing the care of the whole person; embracing multiple ways of knowing; and seeking continuous improvement for the SHU community and for ourselves via a growth mindset.

Administrative Offices

West Campus is home to many SHU administrative offices, including the Business Office, Graduate Admissions, Student Accounts, Registrar's Office, Information Technology and University Advancement.

Atrium at West Campus

Located in the East Building, the atrium at West Campus is a bright, open multipurpose space complete with high ceilings, a sweeping staircase with balcony views of the main floor, modern fixtures, floor-to-ceiling windows and SHU-branded design elements. The atrium welcomes guests, students, faculty and staff to West Campus, whether the area is being utilized for a special event, clinic, workshop or simply as a pristine and impressive entryway to the East Building.

AI lab at SHU
students in the iHub
group of dancers
NeXReality Lab

West Campus