Dalton State will break ground on a new building for the Wright School of Business this Thursday, at 2 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
“We are excited about this major milestone of growth at Dalton State,” said Dalton State President Margaret Venable. “The physical expansion of our business school facilities is long overdue, and the extraordinary gift that Lamar and Ann Wright made to enable this project was the catalyst for this wonderful event.”
The $5 million gift made by Dalton State alumnus Lamar Wright and his wife Ann Wright was matched with $5 million from the State of Georgia for a total project cost of $10 million.
“Our partners in the Northwest Georgia legislative delegation led the way to secure the state funding portion of this project,” Dr.
Venable said. “We are proud of their support for the College and our students with projects like this.”
The project is intended to expand and renovate the College’s Gignilliat Memorial Hall, a general classroom building that was completed in the early 1970s. The building currently houses classrooms, faculty offices, some campus support operations and Janet and Stan Goodroe Auditorium.
The nearly 20,000-square-foot addition will incorporate new classrooms, a finance laboratory, student collaboration and study spaces, and additional gathering spaces for public events. The existing building will be renovated with upgraded classrooms and technology.
“This kind of facility is vital for our business programs on campus and for Dalton State’s support of the regional business community,” said Dr. Marilyn Helms, dean of the Wright School of Business and sesquicentennial chair and professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
“With the recent growth of our academic offerings and the quality of our pre-existing programs, the time is right for a physical expansion of what we’re already doing programmatically,” Dr. Helms said. “We’ll celebrate the 20th anniversary of our first business bachelor’s degrees in 2019, and this kind of facility will help sustain our momentum.
“The new finance lab with Bloomberg terminals, for example, will help prepare students for careers in banking and investments. New, modern computer labs will expand our ability to offer SAP, the enterprise management software employed by major manufacturers, to our logistics and supply chain management and management information system majors. We’ll see a myriad of benefits to our students thanks to what the Wright family has done here.”
Facility preparation for construction is currently underway, and the project will be completed in January 2019.
Hendessi and Associates is program manager for the project. Clark Patterson Lee Architects of Atlanta designed the facility and Parrish Construction Group will complete construction.
Parking for the groundbreaking ceremony will be available in the faculty/staff lot on the east side of Gignilliat Memorial Hall facing College Drive and in front of the Westcott Administration Buidling.