Kent State University's new Crawford Hall officially opened its doors this week, welcoming students, faculty and staff to a cutting-edge academic facility for the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
The four-story, approximately 150,000-square-foot building was designed by the acclaimed architecture firms Perkins + Will and The Collaborative to serve as both a new campus gateway and a state-of-the-art hub for business education.
Kent State Today was there as the first students attended classes in the facility.
The building features a range of dynamic learning environments, including the 360-degree James R. Unger Global Forum, the tiered business theater, specialized labs for trading, data analytics, entrepreneurship and sales training, and flexible active learning classrooms. Students will also benefit from centralized academic and career services available in the Student Success Center.
Beyond the classroom, Crawford Hall offers a number of collaboration spaces, such as the Walter G. and Judy A. Van Benthuysen Collaboration Staircase and the Donald S. and Johnna F. Grant Atrium, which can host speakers, career fairs and other college events.
Kent State provides students with authentic, hands-on learning to prepare them for success in their chosen careers. This focus on “real-world” business experience is demonstrated in dynamic learning labs and classrooms on the first and second floors of Crawford Hall.
The Robert M. and Janet L. Archer Trading Lab features a curved LED display, which provides “stock-ticker” style live business information in this classroom/financial analysis lab. Students can access Bloomberg terminals and other financial software via computer stations.
Adjacent to the atrium, the Commerce Café offers food and beverage options for students, faculty, staff and visitors.
The construction of Crawford Hall was made possible thanks to the largest single gift in Kent State history by Ambassador Edward F. Crawford, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland from 2019-2021. In recognition of the generosity of Ambassador Crawford and his family, the new building was named Crawford Hall and the college was named the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
The grand opening for Crawford Hall will take place at 2 p.m. on Sept. 27.
