Alexander Kasser Theater

The Alexander Kasser Theater Montclair State University's new Alexander Kasser Theater, equipped to exacting professional standards, is a performance space worthy of world-class artists as well as an important resource for campus arts and Montclair community performing arts groups, and a vital addition to the region's cultural life. The heart of the theatre is a 499-seat auditorium with a 4,100-square-foot stage for drama, dance, musical theater, choral concerts, orchestra and chamber ensemble performances.

The lower level of the theater is home to the Partch Instrument Collection and Partch Institute. Harry Partch was a distinguished American composer who created original instruments to realize his musical vision. These one-of-a-kind creations now reside at Montclair State. The theater also hosts the significant collection of 16th-19th century paintings known as the Cosla Collection, with origins traced to Italy and the de Clerici family. Visit the Cosla Web site to view the gallery.

The Alexander Kasser Theater's major benefactors are Mary Mochary, Matthew Mochary, I. Michael Kasser and Alexandra and Seth Bergstein. The 499-seat theater is named in honor of Mrs. Mochary's father Alexander Kasser, an industrialist and philanthropist. MSU Board of Trustees Chair George J. Hilzik and John E. Sullivan, an MSU Foundation Board member, have each endowed a President's Box at the Kasser Theater. The Kasser Theater opened in October 2004 with a gala performance by Mikhail Baryshnikov and the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation.

To learn more, call Charles Gerdon at 973-655-7298 or e-mail gerdonc@mail.montclair.edu.

University Hall

University HallUniversity Hall is the largest and most technologically advanced building in Montclair State University's history and is the new home of the University's nationally renowned College of Education and Human Services. Designed in MSU's Spanish Mission style, this facility is comprised of four 100-seat lecture halls, one 200-seat lecture hall, 41 general classrooms, more than 20 specialized learning labs, over 150 faculty and staff offices, and several student study lounges. Located on the seventh floor of University Hall is the region's newest and most sophisticated conference center with meeting, conference and event space for groups up to 520, and a dramatic view of the Manhattan skyline. University Hall is also the new home for the ADP Center for Teacher Preparation and Learning Technologies, the Center for Pedagogy, the Literacy Enrichment Center, the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children and the Office of Information Technology.

The new facility will allow the University to more than double the number (to at least 600) of highly qualified, technologically literate and ethnically diverse teachers it produces each year; quadruple the number (to at least 8,000) of working teachers it reaches with continuing professional development; and increase by six-fold the number of school children (to at least 150,000) who will benefit from the activities of its various programs.

Montclair State currently educates the majority of the preschool teachers for New Jersey's high-need urban districts, and the technological capacity of the new building will allow the University to educate more of these teachers in remote sites across the state. Through the New Jersey Network for Educational Renewal, the University serves 23 local school districts throughout the state. The new academic building will provide a strong base for expanding those partnership efforts and increasing the technological capacity and expertise of all the University's education graduates.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), Phyllis and Gerald A. LeBoff, PSE&G and the estate of James B. Todd '41 '50 M.A. are the lead funders to date for University Hall.

To learn more, call Myrtis Yake at 973-655-4036 or e-mail yakem@mail.montclair.edu.