Winona State University will host an open house to celebrate the grand opening of the new College of Business Engagement Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, in Somsen Hall 108. The event will include remarks from College of Business Dean Hamid Akbari and Provost Pat Rogers at 12:15 p.m.
The Engagement Center is a new space designed to connect WSU students, faculty and staff with WSU alumni, community members and business partners.
“The Engagement Center will enhance the educational experience for our students,” said Akbari. “It offers opportunities for our faculty, staff and students to work together with our partners in the community to improve our world, and also provides our partners the opportunity to contribute to the education of our students.”
The Engagement Center supports experiential learning for students, faculty and community partners by providing the physical space and technology to enhance collaborative opportunities. Physical amenities include the WSU Center for Sales Excellence, the Financial Markets Lab, and open collaborative space.
The Center for Sales Excellence expansion builds on leading edge instruction and a proven curriculum, preparing students for successful careers in sales. It features two dedicated sales roleplay rooms, each with state of the art technology to record and broadcast audio and video. Additionally, the roleplay rooms can serve as focus group facilities and provide space for interviews, meetings, presentations and collaborative discussions.
“We are committed to delivering education, research and leadership that advance the sales profession,” Marianne Collins, associate professor of marketing, said. “Demand for graduates interested in pursuing sales careers has been uninterrupted by technological advances or economic conditions. We incorporate current business practices in our curriculum by fostering a relationship between business and academia that capitalizes on the unique strengths of both.”
The Financial Markets Lab provides a dedicated space for the Student Investment Program, a collaboration between WSU finance students, the WSU Foundation and university donors. Students in the program gain hands-on experience in finance and recommend the portfolio allocation of over $100,000 of WSU Foundation funds. The Financial Markets Lab also serves as a formal boardroom for meetings and presentations.
Finally, the open collaborative space of the Engagement Center is a multipurpose area designed to incubate innovation. Through the design of the space, with reconfigurable seating for both strategic discussions and socialization, the open collaborative space allows for planned and spontaneous interaction between members of the Winona business community and students or faculty from the WSU College of Business. The open collaborative space is also able to accommodate larger presentations and receptions.
The College of Business Engagement Center Open House is free and open to the public. Faculty members from the College of Business will be on hand to answer questions and share ideas. Light refreshments will be served.
For more information, contact the WSU College of Business at 507-457-5014.
About the WSU College of Business
The WSU College of Business enrolls approximately 1,300 undergraduate students. The college has 41 full-time professors and offers seven undergraduate majors and ten undergraduate minors. The college is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. To learn more about the WSU College of Business visit: http://www.winona.edu/business.
