Spring Break
Terry project to benefit students
Issue date: 1/7/08 Section: Opinions
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As a student of business and policy, I yearn for the opportunity to increase the value of my degree. The Terry College of Business consistently receives "average" rankings, having the 56th ranked undergraduate program and the 43rd ranked MBA program in the country, according to Business Week and the Economist Intelligence Unit, respectively.
Fortunately, Robert T. Sumichrast, dean of Terry, and the administration have a vision to address this issue and turn Terry into a premier business school by expanding the Terry Campus along Lumpkin, Baxter and Hull Streets.
The current plan calls for the construction of three new buildings with a central quad. Each building would have a mix of office and classroom space, as well as various other to-be-determined amenities, though each would be tailored for MBA, undergraduates or classroom space. All in all, this complex will be roughly 332,000 square feet.
Of course, executing this plan is much easier said than done. Thus, to catalyze this construction process, students need to accept some responsibility and provide funding.
Preferably, this $100 million project would be financed through contributions from the Board of Regents, alumni and students. Corporate sponsors also could contribute.
Of course, no group wants to be the first to provide funding due to uncertainty surrounding the contributions of the others. As a result, students must embrace this project and step up to the plate.
Specifically, a student fee for Terry students would finance about one-third of the project and significantly expedite funding from alumni and the state. It would be much easier to get alumni and the state on board for this project if they knew the students really wanted it and already had agreed to partially finance it.
So at this point, you're probably asking yourself: do Terry students need this?
The answer to this question is irrefutably, YES. The benefits are immeasurable; not only would students benefit from having improved facilities, but the school would become on par with leading institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
All of the leading business schools in the country have similar business school structures.
For instance, the University of Virginia's McIntire School has weekly social gatherings for faculty and students in their business school foyer.
Clearly, such opportunities foster mentorship and productivity, and without this degree of infrastructure, Terry students are at a disadvantage.
Furthermore, the three proposed buildings might house amenities such as group meeting rooms, computer labs, a dining area, a business lounge and a large multi-purpose room for banquets, among other additions. This would help Terry students develop into better future business leaders.
At this point, it is necessary for students to contribute - the more, the better.
The project is meant to benefit students, both now and in the future. For this to be done in the most effective way, we, as students, must work with the faculty and administration on the project extensively.
Additionally, we must be the ones aggressively seeking support from alumni and the state government if we want this project to be completed any time soon.
For better or worse, this plan has not gained significant publicity to date in the media - hence this column. Of course, we can't ask students to get excited about a project they know little about. So I encourage you to spread the word about this exciting new development and become directly involved as well.
In the next few weeks, a steering committee will form that will be the students' voice in the matter; all students are encouraged to apply.
Keep your eyes open (this will be widely publicized with Ann Mainz, an MBA student leading this push), and you might see an exciting enhancement on campus in the near future.
- Lucas Puente is a sophomore from Wilmington, N.C. majoring in finance and international affairs and a center director for the Roosevelt Institution.
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