"Faculty teams are working on curricular innovations, and the school is looking to increase experiential learning as well as expand leadership and teamwork opportunities -- all of which the new building is designed to promote and support."
-- Dean Susan West Engelkemeyer
In spring 2008 Ithaca College's School of Business opened its innovative new building, the Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise. Situated in the center of the College's campus, the building's U-shaped seating areas, numerous collaborative breakout rooms, and small conference rooms allow students to work and learn together in an atmosphere similar to the professional environment they will one day occupy.
The building's forward-looking design also reflects a major commitment to sustainability. From basement to roof, it is a real-world example of environmental stewardship that incorporates the highest principles of sustainable design.
In fact, the building is on track to receive the platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, the highest level granted by the U.S. Green Building Council.
This pioneering design inspired leaders in the School of Business to incorporate similar principles into their curriculum. "The new building's dynamic and interactive learning environment provided the energy, inspiration, and opportunity to push a very good curriculum to become truly great," said Susan West Engelkemeyer, dean of the School of Business.
One of the centerpieces of the business school's new home is the Center for Trading and Analysis of Financial Instruments, which debuted in 1995. Informally known as the trading room, it has nearly doubled in size to 1,200 square feet and now features 45 workstations with double-screen monitors providing real-time access to security exchanges and other market data. The trading room is the facility of choice for a number of courses, including a new one in which students will manage an actual financial portfolio with $100,000 of real capital, thanks to a gift from an anonymous donor.
Two new academic centers will be headquartered in the new building. In the Center for Small Business, students can immerse themselves in real-world business issues in partnership with local companies, fostering a spirit of creative enterprise and individual initiative. Once it is fully operational, the center will likely be a home base for groups such as Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and the International Business Association, providing even more opportunities for students across various disciplines. The Center for Sustainable Management Practices will serve to integrate issues surrounding environmental stewardship, corporate social responsibility, and resource management across the entire business curriculum.
In addition, budding executives can hone their corporate speaking skills in the 32-seat moot boardroom. With glorious views of Cayuga Lake and the surrounding hillsides of Tompkins County, the glass-enclosed space is a hi-tech venue for hosting debates or PowerPoint presentations. Students can also work together using the collaborative technology classroom's several laptop workstations, and build teamwork skills in the small-group breakout rooms scattered throughout the building.
At the Forefront
With a robust capacity for 21st-century technology, flexible spaces for creative learning, and innovative concepts for building community, the 38,000-square-foot facility is a progressive building that fosters team skills, entrepreneurial spirit, and dynamic energy essential in today's workplace.
