Carleton’s Sprott School of Business kicked off a campaign to fund a new building for the school on Sept. 11, after receiving a gift of $10 million from the Wesley and Mary Nicol Charitable Foundation.
The Sprott School of Business has grown in recent years, and in 2013 it received its international accreditation, which less than five per cent of the world’s business programs earn.
“The Sprott School needs a new home to build on its fine international reputation and foster tomorrow’s business and social leaders,” said Carleton President Roseann Runte in an official statement.
An interdisciplinary course last year saw architecture students working with business students to create plans for a fictional new building. The plans were not meant to be practical, but it did spark discussion about the limitations of Dunton Tower.
“You don’t come to that building unless you need to. The vast majority of the students would never go there except maybe to see a prof,” said Jerry Tomberlin, dean of the Sprott School of Business, in an interview with the Charlatan last year.
He also said that Dunton Tower’s elevators are unreliable and there are few spaces for open meetings.
“A new building will take the Sprott School to the next level, providing innovative learning environments and collaborative spaces that foster the creative, caring and connected spirit of our community,” said Tomberlin in the new press release.
“It will allow us to introduce new programs and initiatives that build upon the entrepreneurial culture of the Carleton community and the region,” he added.
Wesley Nicol graduated from Carleton in 1954 with a bachelor of arts, and has since then focused his attentions on supporting entrepreneurship across Canada.
“A stronger business school means a stronger city,” Nicol said in a release. He is also responsible for establishing the Nicol Entrepreneurial Award and the Nicol Entrepreneurial Institute at Carleton.
A location for the new building has not been chosen yet, nor has a timeline for the project been established. A plan and a budget must first be drawn up before a request is issued for proposals from architects and developers.
More fundraising will also be needed before the addition to campus can be built.
Related Articles:
