Proud - Youngstown State University

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Williamson College:
Bridging Campus,
Business Community
Imagine a business college that houses much more than
classrooms - a regional business resource center where tomorrow’s
business leaders cross paths daily with today’s executives
and entrepreneurs.
The new $34.3 million Williamson College of Business
Administration building will be just that.
Designed to bridge the campus and downtown
Youngstown, the state-of-the-art facility is the centerpiece of
YSU’s Centennial Master Plan and will be a cornerstone for
the university’s second century.
“The new building will provide the spaces, technologies
and professional environment necessary to keep YSU
competitive in recruiting and retaining the best students and
faculty,” said Betty Jo Licata, dean of the business college.
“It will enrich the teaching-learning environment and will
support business services to the region.”
A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for October,
culminating the university’s Centennial Celebration. Construction
will begin in January 2009, and the building is
scheduled to open in June 2010. It is the largest single capital
expenditure in YSU’s history, and nearly half will be funded
through private gifts.
Licata said the three-story, 106,000-square-foot building,
located on Rayen Avenue on the far-south end of campus,
will be about twice the size of the school’s present home on
Lincoln Avenue.
“We spent a lot of time talking about connecting the
campus to the community, creating a building to be a resource
for the community as well as our students and faculty,” said
the dean, describing the collaborative planning process that
involved students, faculty, campus and community leaders.
“Every space is designed to further the mission of the
college and to demonstrate our commitment to education, the
professional development of our students and the economic
development of the region.”
The expanded emphasis on business community outreach
will place YSU in a unique position among business schools
nationwide, said Jeff Ziebarth of Perkins & Will, an international
architecture and planning firm that designed the building
in collaboration with Strollo Architects, Youngstown.
“While community outreach efforts are becoming more
prevalent for business colleges, YSU has more physical space
dedicated to creating community connections than we typically
see,” he said.
“It’s a great opportunity for YSU to enhance services to
the business community and to give students greater access
to business professionals,” Ziebarth added. “We think it will
make YSU one of the best and most unique business schools
Betty Jo Licata
Architect’s rendering of
the new Williamson
College building.
in the country.”
Licata said the new classrooms are designed to support
an interactive learning process, with the inclusion of small
group meeting rooms to encourage teamwork and discussion.
Three computer labs are planned, along with a financial
services lab, a professional sales/communications lab and a
student business incubator to encourage entrepreneurship.
Hanna Kassis, who graduated from YSU in May with a
bachelor’s degree in accounting, was among the students involved
in the planning. He likes the first-floor location of the
student organization office, which will house student chapters
of national professional organizations.
“We wanted that office to be very visible to encourage
more students to get involved in networking,” said Kassis,
now an associate accountant with Packer Thomas in
Youngstown.
Several of the college’s business outreach centers will
also be on the first floor to allow for more synergy, joint
programming and coordination of services. The Ohio Small
Business Development Center, the Williamson Center for
International Business, the Center for Nonprofit Leadership,
Partners for Workplace Diversity, SCORE small business
counselors and the Monus Entrepreneurship Center will all be
housed there.
Other amenities include a 200-seat auditorium and a
four-room conference center for workshops, conferences,
business meetings and presentations. A café with outdoor
10 Youngstown State University