Friday, September 9th, around 11:30 am, the long awaited unveiling of the remodeled the courtyard of the Arnold Bernard Arts and Humanities Center (also known as the ABC building) was celebrated. The ceremony also honored long time trustee and patron Mrs. Dorothy Larson, Dotty as our prestige guests identified her. “We’ve taken a lot of nothing and turned it into something with Dottie’s charitable contributions,” stated Mayor John Michael Fabrizi as a mix of students, faculty, trustees and staff looked on in consensus.
Dotty was certainly deserving of the tribute as our President, Neil Albert Salonen recounted her terrible tumble on the cracked walk way in front of the building. Mrs. Larson reiterated the story over cake and juice, “I came to visit the building and these lovely students, and they threw me a surprise party… It was wonderful and we went outside take a picture next to the Bubble and as I walked out I fell flat on my face. From that day I vowed I would never make a fool of myself again.” Now as a result of what could have been a tragic stumble a great deed was done. Where she might have sued the school for tens of thousands of dollars and set the school further back, she invested time and money and spearheaded UB into what we hope will be a series of school improvements.
President Salonen mentioned several other projects in the works including a new athletic field, smart classrooms, and residency hall upgrades. He also alluded to ongoing work being done on the Ped Mall.
Everyone including the president agreed that the school’s improvements were not finished and wouldn’t be right away. Trustees expanded this by saying, “It’s going to be a series of steady improvements.” As for the students, staff, and trustees for now there is nothing more we can ask. A special thank you from this reporter and The Scribe goes out to the charitable and praiseworthy Mrs. Dorothy Larson for all her support and effort in the revitalization of the University of Bridgeport.
University of Bridgeport
Tuesday, July 15, 2025