After several years of fundraising, the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Connors Family Fine Arts Center took place on Oct. 1.

In addition to serving as the new hub for SFU’s fine arts programs, the Connors Family Fine Arts Center will house the Resinski Black Box Theatre.

The new fine arts center began as a grassroots effort to honor the late Kenny Resinski, who served as a theatre faculty member and production director at the University from 1967 to 2013.

In his opening remarks at the groundbreaking, Father Malachi recalled the conversation that kickstarted the campaign for a fine arts center.

“About seven or eight years ago now, Bonnie Resinski came into my office to meet with me about developing a black box theatre,” he said.

Father Malachi spoke of the importance that the SFU community places on the fine arts and how it remains a vital part of the student experience at the University.

The original idea was to raise enough money to convert an existing physical plant building into the Resinski Black Box Theatre.

Over the course of the following years, however, enough donations came in and the idea of building a new fine arts building – with a black box theatre as the main feature – became a possibility.

“I am so excited to see this project come to fruition,” said Resinski.

Yet in all the excitement, she has not lost sight of who the new theatre will serve.

“It might have ‘Resinski’ in the title, but make no mistake: the Resinski Black Box Theatre is for the students.”

Christopher Collins, co-chair of the Resinski Black Box Alumni Committee and a member of SFU’s Class of 1973, expressed his excitement at the creation of a new fine arts center, citing his participation in theatre activities as one of his fondest memories from his time at Saint Francis.

In addition to Collins and Resinski, participants in the groundbreaking included Sharon Hoffman, Fr. Joe Lehman, Fr. Malachi, Karan Powell, Pete Skoner, Lori Woods, James Donovan and students Megan Wood and Scott Riner.

John and Sheila Connor, benefactors of the project, were unable to attend the event.

The new fine arts center is expected to be ready for use by the fall of 2023.