Dean's message

Hitting milestones has become somewhat of a regular occurrence around here. Just before Thanksgiving, our new building in the District Detroit reached its halfway point. Work crews are installing the glass façade, along with the exterior limestone, metal panels and custom curtain wall systems. Inside, crews continue mechanical, electrical and plumbing work along with fire protection and drywall installation from the basement to the roof.

When complete in spring 2018, our building will include a full trading floor, open-air classroom, business incubator pop-up and corner café, as well as space for hosting community and corporate events of all shapes and sizes.  

Construction management for the project is being led by Christman-Brinker, and architectural firm SmithGroupJJR led the development of the updated design. Both companies are Detroit-based, and the Ilitch family has made it a priority to award city businesses the majority of contracts for their flurry of District Detroit construction projects.

Here in the Prentis Building, we're preparing for the big move. As we clear out old files and look forward to fresh office spaces and technology loaded classrooms, we are also digging into relationship building in our new neighborhood, paving the way for our students to jump right into the action. In fact, in this newsletter you can read about the nine new full-time faculty members we've hired to support our growth including Associate Professor Scott Tainsky, director of the sport and entertainment management program. Scott is already taking his students on insider tours of Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park and more, giving them the chance to interface directly with leaders of Detroit's pro sports teams. 

I hope you enjoy reading about our achievements this fall, from yet another successful Elevator Pitch Competition (this time in the historic Guardian Building), to our management faculty's inspiring work to chart women in Michigan business leadership, to a major grant achieved by our global supply chain management faculty.

All told, we are heading into the holidays with a great sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep pushing forward in the new year. I hope you enjoy the season's festivities.

Sincerely,

Robert Forsythe
Dean
robert.forsythe@wayne.edu