UNCP to hold groundbreaking ceremony for future School of Business building

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New School of Business Building renderings

PEMBROKE, NC – The University of North Carolina at Pembroke will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the future School of Business building on April 11, 2019.

The event will be held in the parking lot in front of the Dial Humanities building at 11 a.m.

UNCP School of Business Building Groundbreaking

April 11, 2019

11 a.m.

Dial Humanities Parking Lot

“This is a significant milestone for our university and for our region,” said UNCP Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings. “The future School of Business building will position UNCP as a driver of change, furthering our role as an anchor economic institution for southeastern North Carolina.”

The university has seen significant growth in students entering the School of Business in recent years for both graduate and undergraduate programs. The School of Business is also the home of the Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub—a business incubator whose purpose is to establish and grow businesses in the region. The Hub has created 94 jobs since 2016. The school serves as a training ground to strengthen the applicant pool for employers in the region.

UNC Pembroke's business school holds the prestigious distinction of AASCB accreditation, an honor less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide achieves.

The School of Business is currently housed in the Business Administration Building, one of the oldest classroom buildings on campus. The facility is not designed to accommodate future growth and teaching needs. Leading the way, the future building will be a cutting-edge learning space for North Carolina’s next generation of executives and entrepreneurs.

It will be located facing Prospect Road between Sampson Hall and Dial Humanities building. The new facility is anticipated to be ready for students beginning spring 2021.

In addition to 14 classrooms, the building will include a career services center, a lecture auditorium, an interactive market-style trading room, video conference room, computer lab, collaborative study spaces, and a multimedia resource room that empowers students to engage in the global conversation.

UNC Pembroke received $23 million from the 2016 NC Connect Bond and a $6 million appropriation from the General Assembly toward the construction of the building. Private individuals and foundations contributed the remaining funding needed for the nearly $38 million building.

Pembroke-native and Los Angeles commercial developer and wife, Jim and Sally Thomas, contributed $7 million to the School of Business—the largest individual donation in the university’s 132-year history.

The Golden LEAF Foundation provided a $1.89 million matching grant to support the implementation of modern instructional technology throughout the future facility.

Dan Gerlach, President of the Golden LEAF Foundation believes UNCP can meet the future needs of the region through education. “The Golden LEAF Foundation is proud to support UNC Pembroke in its efforts to increase the number of young people served with high-quality facilities to better meet the demand of local and regional businesses.”