New College of Business and Public Management Building Set to Open in 2020
By Zoe Strozewski | Published by Oct. 30, 2018
A rendering shows the projected finished product of the new building. Photo courtesy of Kean News.
The College of Business and Public Management (CBPM) is slated to receive a new building for both its undergraduate and graduate programs in 2020. The completed building will encompass 90,000 square feet and include features such as a virtual “library in the sky,” an auditorium, and a rooftop deck where students can view New York City according to Director of Media Relations, Margaret McCorry.
The approval of and pending construction of this building marks a significant step forward for one of Kean’s largest universities and a source of change for the buildings and programs currently in place for the CBPM.
According to the Fall 2017 University Profile compiled by the Office of Institutional Research, the CBPM’s Management Science major is the third largest in the university, with 880 students. This enrollment is only surpassed by the Psychology and Biology majors, which have 1,243 and 1,175 students, respectively.
The CBPM is also home to the fourth and sixth largest undergraduate programs, which are Criminal Justice with an enrollment of 773 and Accounting with an enrollment of 583. Additionally, the Finance degree has grown 76.2 percent over the past five years, with an increase from 185 students in 2013 to 326 in 2017.
Green Lane is the current hub for the College of Business and Public Management. Photos by Zoe Strozewski.
This consistent size and growth McCorry states is one of the reasons the CBPM was chosen to receive a new building.
“The College of Business & Public Management offers some of the University’s most popular academic majors. As enrollment in those programs continues to grow, it’s essential for Kean to offer the best possible learning environment for our students,” McCorry said.
The plan for this building was approved by the Board of Trustees meeting in September.
The departmental headquarters of the CBPM, as well as the Michael Graves College, was moved to the Green Lane building when it was opened in 2014, but classes from the CBPM are held in a variety of buildings across campus. The new building will provide a form of unification for the CBPM’s programs and some unique features that will be a first for this campus.
“The Green Lane Academic Building houses programming from across the University, including offices and classrooms for Michael Graves College. CBPM programs are scattered across campus. The new state-of-the-art structure will bring together all of the college’s undergraduate and graduate programs in 90,000 square feet that includes an auditorium; a “Bloomberg room” where students will work on the Bloomberg business intelligence software; classrooms; study lounges; a virtual “library in the sky” and a rooftop deck with a view of New York City,” McCorry said.
When construction is completed, there will be a transition in terms of where these programs are centralized.
“The new building will be the headquarters for CBPM, freeing up space in Green Lane for the Master of Architecture program, which launches in September 2019, as well as continued growth throughout Michael Graves College,” McCorry said.
According to Assistant Dean, David Farrokh, this building will give students the chance to learn in ways that go beyond the textbook and mimic real-life business situations. This is in line with the mission of the CBPM as a whole, which strives to give students hands-on experience and prepare them for entering their desired fields after graduation.
Once construction of the new building is complete, the headquarters of the College of Business and Public Management will transfer away from Green Lane. Photos by Zoe Strozewski.
“It underscores the president’s vision for an enhanced student experience and will help allow us to supplement the classroom experience with experiential types of learning,” Farrokh said in an article by Kean News.
The construction contract was given to Natoli Construction Corp. and the building will be located across from Green Lane on a site formerly occupied by the pharmaceutical company, Merck. It will be built alongside a brand new housing and retail development currently under construction in the same neighborhood.
The multi-million dollar structure will be paid for via a mix of public funds and private donations, according to McCorry. One of these private supporters is Jim Hynes, a 1963 graduate of Kean whose name adorns the school’s baseball stadium. Hynes has been a consistent benefactor of the university ever since starting his own prosperous plastics business and has already promised to lend some of his funds to the project.
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