Baker College new Center for Business open house March 22

FLINT, Mich. – Baker College of Flint invites the community to explore its new Center for Business at an open house, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, March 22. Families are welcome.

About 10,000 square feet of the southwest portion of the Undergraduate Studies Building have received a multimillion-dollar renovation to create a place “where students collaborate, solve problems and work on real-world business issues while earning their degrees,” said Dr. Julianne Princinsky, Baker College of Flint president. “The design and technology of the new Center provide the tools necessary for students to focus on higher order critical thinking skills and develop data-driven decisions. These experiences will enable them to hit the ground running at their first jobs.”

The Center houses the college’s business programs and the Business Center where Baker College classes partner with regional businesses for problem-solving collaboration. Construction began last spring, and about 100 classes began using the renovated space in January.

Highlights of the Center for Business include the following:

·      Classrooms have multiple interactive whiteboards that store notes and presentations in the cloud for later access by students.

·      Classroom iPads are available to all students to interact with the instructor and other students.

·      Whiteboards have webcams that connect students with business leaders across Michigan, the U.S. and the world.

·      Additional large-format monitors at table level allow students to connect their laptops or iPads to the system to display their work for small-group interaction or transmit it to the class whiteboards for discussion.

·      Classrooms can be quickly reconfigured in size and according to function with furniture that is fully mobile, configurable and lightweight.

“Those who come to the open house will see that this is a major shift for a classroom setting,” said John Cote, Ph.D., dean of business administration. “It’s a dramatic positive change for our faculty and students. There are fewer lectures. Instead of using textbooks, instructors are turning to hundreds of digital sources. Because technology can easily calculate numbers, we don’t need to spend time learning how to calculate. We can use that time to interpret the numbers. Students participate as active learners, and instructors are facilitators.”

At the open house, attendees will be able to tour the facility and learn how the educational technology and learning applications support Baker’s growing emphasis on active learning.

Tours will include demonstrations of the video wall in the new boardroom, whiteboard-iPad interaction and accounting and other educational technology. Video conferencing technology will demonstrate how it can bring business leaders into the classroom. Attendees will be able to talk with Kevin Shaw, vice president of the Coffee Beanery, one of Baker’s business partners, and Martin Lavelle, senior associate economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Detroit Office, via Skype.

The Center for Business has 10 classrooms, a Business Conference Center, a conference/board room and an auditorium that serves as a one-level, multi-purpose room with large-format interactive video displays on four walls.

“In addition to being a wonderful resource to our faculty and students, these facilities are also an asset to our community,” Princinsky said. “Outside organizations will be able to use areas of the Center for Business and the technology for meetings.”

The Business Conference Center will also serve as the hub for Baker’s Business Center that has partnered with more than 100 businesses during the past six years. Baker pairs students and its core classes with businesses to help solve problems while providing real experience to students. This fulfills the motto, Helping Businesses Succeed while Helping Students Learn, and helps make graduates “job ready,” according to Cote.

An example of a Baker partnership is the help provided by an international business class to the Coffee Beanery when the company, with more than 100 locations in the U.S. and 20 locations internationally, wanted to expand into Japan.

Cote expects the number of partner businesses to increase, especially because of expanded accessibility through technology to communicate with entities beyond the region and state.

Several regional and state entities refer businesses to this program, including the MEDC, the Detroit office of The U.S. Small Business Administration and the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce.

The Center’s 40 faculty members are practicing professionals who work in the fields in which they teach. “They bring experience and expertise into the classroom and provide a realistic education to students,” Cote said.

The curriculum is overseen by the Business Administration Advisory Board, a group of business owners and administrators who provide direction to ensure the curriculum is cutting-edge and addresses the needs of current business organizations.

Business programs offered at the Center for Business include bachelor’s and associate degrees in accounting, marketing, management and supply chain management, associate degrees in accounting/computer information systems, accounting/management, administrative professional, digital media design, entrepreneurship, general business, human resource management and interior design, and a certificate in clerical bookkeeping.

For more information about the Center for Business and the business programs offered at Baker College of Flint, contact the admissions office, 810.766.4000 or jodi.cuneaz@baker.edu.

The largest private college in Michigan, Baker College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It is a nonprofit higher education institution, serving more than 35,000 students on 12 campuses and in three satellite locations. Baker grants certificates and associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business, health sciences, education and human services, and various technical fields, as well as a doctorate of business administration. As a career college, the Baker College system is pleased to report that 97 percent of its available graduates are employed. For more information about Baker College, please check out our website at www.baker.edu.