Imagine sitting in a 360-degree theatre-in-the-round classroom. Brand new chairs face inward where the instructor stands on a small, elevated platform with a podium. The upper part of the room’s curved wall glows with projected images from the classroom computer. Crystal-clear sounds delight the ears of the students. This is what it’s like to sit in the James R. Unger Global Forum, one of the many amazing new spaces in the brand-new Crawford Hall.
When Kent State University Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship students went back for the fall semester, they were not just going back for a new semester. They were met with an entirely new building housing some amazing new spaces and technology, augmenting the college’s preparation of these students as lifelong learners in a global workforce.
Crawford Hall, the new Ambassador Crawford College building, opened its doors to students for the first time this semester, unveiling a wide variety of educational spaces.
Two of these innovative learning spaces include the Robert M. and Janet L. Archer Trading Lab and James R. Unger Global Forum.
Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., dean of the Ambassador Crawford College, told Kent State Today that some of the inspirations for these new areas came from a group trip representatives of Kent State took to different colleges around the Midwest.
“Five of us representing the staff, the faculty, administration, IT and a small group of our architects traveled around the Midwest to relatively new business schools to see what the latest design was and what they were using,” Spake said, "importantly, talking with them about what they built that they really thought worked well and what they wish they hadn’t.”
When entering Crawford Hall from the second floor, the 50-seat financial Trading Lab is hard to miss as the Barry E. and Jo Ann Fetterman Stock Ticker meets the eyes with up-to-date stock information from the New York Stock Exchange.
William Billik, Ph.D., associate professor of finance and co-advisor of the Golden Flash Asset Management Group, said the room has many state-of-the-art features that allow for an immersive experience.
“The students have monitors and computers at their workstations, so that as you’re doing things on the screen in front of the classroom, they could be applying it directly,” Billik said. “They don’t have to take notes and try to do it later.”
Along with the hands-on workstations, Billik said that the school is currently in the process of acquiring a total of 12 Bloomberg terminals that will give students access to prominent financial information.
“Bloomberg is probably the best source of current financial information between news and market data analysis,” Billik said.
Billik said that students who are taking classes in the Trading Lab are gaining real-world experience that prepares them for their future careers.
“It is much closer from the classroom to the workplace,” Billik said, “so if they have no work experience when they do get a position, whether that be an internship or full-time position, they’re probably going to feel more comfortable because they’ve been in this type of environment.”
In addition to the Trading Lab, the Global Forum is also turning heads – literally – as it is a 360-degree room with numerous in-the-round projectors and a capacity of 400.
Wendy Tietz, Ph.D., professor of accounting, teaches the Introduction to Financial Accounting course in the Global Forum and said that the sound quality from the microphones, screen viewing from anywhere in the room and seating that enhances the educational experience make this new room stand out.
“The sound is amazing,” Tietz said. “The fact that students can see two screens no matter where they are is pretty neat.”
Tietz said she plans to use the new room in an exciting way this semester for her students.
“The thing that I am looking forward to this semester is one day this November, we’re having two public accounting firms come to class and they’re going to talk about life at their firm and what it’s like to be an accountant at their firm,” Tietz said. “They’re also going to talk about other major opportunities at their places, so kind of like a mini job fair.”
The Global Forum has been impressing students as Tietz said she has been receiving feedback from students in her class about what they have been enjoying.
“They love that they can see from anywhere in the room,” Tietz said. “The screens are very visible. They like having the two screens available.”
Among the numerous distinctive features the Global Forum possesses, Spake said, it is not only unique to Kent State but also to the East Coast.
“The Global Forum is a teaching space that we saw online at a university on the West Coast, but we’re not aware of any room like it anywhere on this side of the country,” Spake said.
Spake also noted that the excitement for the new building is being directly reflected in the enrollment for the college.
“Our enrollment is up this fall, and I’m really not surprised,” Spake said. “I think the building is an attraction on its own.”
The grand opening for Crawford Hall will be held at 2 p.m. on Sept. 27 in the building’s atrium. Spake said the ceremony will acknowledge and thank everyone who has made this project possible followed by self-guided tours to show off the new building.
Learn more about the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship.