Campus, community to celebrate SVSU’s $25.4M business college expansion opening

“A game changer” expected to boost the region’s business community for generations will be celebrated Monday, Feb. 24, by leaders from across the state during a dedication ceremony for Saginaw Valley State University’s soon-to-open $25.4 million business school expansion.

 

The ceremony will be hosted at 1 p.m. in SVSU’s Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts, which adjoins the 38,500-square-foot addition that will house the Scott L. Carmona College of Business. A public open house inside the building addition will follow the event.

 

Deborah Huntley, SVSU provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, called the building addition “a physical manifestation of our purpose and our vision to be renowned for innovative teaching, experiential learning and state-of-the art facilities.”

 

The new space includes data analytics labs and Bloomberg Trading terminals, which track stock data in real time. Upgrades include cutting-edge equipment used by Fortune 500 companies, providing students with hands-on experience utilizing resources adapted to match global business trends. Access to tools and tech fine-tuned for the next generation strengthen an academic college already honored with an AACSB-International accreditation, a gold standard distinction earned by fewer than 5 percent of the world’s business colleges.

 

“We believe that, in this facility, prospective students, prospective faculty and business leaders will recognize our commitment to innovation and excellence, and make SVSU the region’s premier business school,” Huntley said.

 

The expansion will allow SVSU to grow its strong relationship with a regional business community already utilizing campus resources as well as the university’s determined and talented pool of business students, she said.

 

“This building — with its spectacular meeting spaces and collaborative learning spaces — can and will foster these collaborations, and position us well for additional partnerships,” Huntley said.

 

Anthony Bowrin, SVSU’s dean of the Carmona College of Business, called the expansion “a game changer” for the university and surrounding region.

 

“Our faculty and staff now have the resources to leverage our updated curriculum and innovative teaching approaches to enhance the preparation of our students,” he said. “This facility will better position students to realize their professional and personal goals while enhancing the pool of talent, insights, and ideas available to business and other organizations in the Great Lakes Bay Region.”

 

The Feb. 24 ceremony will feature presentations from legislators, business leaders and campus officials.

 

Student musicians with SVSU’s Cardinal Brass Quintet band will perform Monday as well.

 

The ceremony represents the first of two events scheduled next week aimed at introducing the public to the business college upgrade.

 

A Thursday, Feb. 27 event will allow the public to tour the new facility and attend SVSU faculty-led presentations on business-related subjects from 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. A keynote presentation by Nicholas Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, is scheduled at 7 p.m. that same day in SVSU’s Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts.

 

SVSU Foundation earlier this week announced the completion of a $15.6 million fundraising campaign for the expansion. The building addition also was supported by $9.8 million in funding from the State of Michigan.

 

For more information about SVSU’s Carmona College of Business, visit www.svsu.edu/scottlcarmonacollegeofbusiness.