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On one such tour, Dean Paul Grimes and Associate Dean Lynn Murray showed the space to new President Thomas Newsom and the Kelce Advisory Board, a group comprised of senior leaders from a diverse roster of companies.
Many of them graduated from Pitt State and attended school decades ago in the building still used by the Kelce College of Business. That building was built in 1952 as a high school and was repurposed for business classes in the mid-1970s.
Today, the college serves more than 1,000 business students each semester who are on the path to careers that weren’t invented when the Kelce College of Business was founded.
The new building, which is scheduled to be completed in time for classes in Fall 2026, is located on Broadway between 2nd and 3rd Streets and will support innovative teaching and collaboration, expand community outreach and engagement, and provide upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students with a modern academic home.
At approximately 60,000 square feet, it is designed with a facade that blends with the historic architecture of the downtown, but inside it will have cutting edge technology and flexible learning spaces.
Inside the front door is a two-story atrium with a speaking platform and large video board; when flexible seating is added, it will be an ideal gathering area for formal presentations and events.
Toward the rear of the first floor, a large space is designed to be used as a classroom capable of holding 150 people which can be sectioned off into three smaller classrooms for classes of 50 students each.
The first floor also will be home to the Student Engagement Center and the Internship Program as well as the home for the Graduate School of Business.
The floor also features a dedicated meeting room for student clubs and organizations, a computer lab, an observation lab for market research and behavioral experiments, a conference room, and an office suite for several business outreach centers and programs, including:
The Business and Economic Research Center, which provides current and prospective businesses with the latest data, cutting edge research, and expert advice on regional economic trends and issues, and produces the quarterly Pittsburg Micropolitan Area Economic Report.
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, which produces programs designed to support regional economic development by providing entrepreneurial education for students and the community.
The Center for Business and Talent and Development, which provides professional development workshops and seminars designed to enhance worker productivity through skill enhancement and managerial training.
The second floor of the building is primarily dedicated to faculty and administrative offices, but also includes a classroom, study rooms, and a recording studio for faculty and students to produce audio and video presentations.
Being two blocks from the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce and within a stone’s throw of dozens of businesses in downtown Pittsburg will be a boon to students and faculty, Grimes said.
“We’ll host workshops, trainings, entrepreneurial work, and small business development activities,” he said.
Murray said faculty are excited to tie instruction to the business community and provide students with valuable connections.
CPA Doug Eaton (BSBA ‘76) said after his tour that the building will provide an impressive learning environment and great opportunities for business students for years to come.
“The new facility affirms the college’s commitment to be the region’s business school of choice and solidifies its high ranking among the best business schools in the U.S.,” he said.
Following his tour, Newsom said it was one of the highlights of his first few weeks on the job, because it underscored for him that the connection between the university and the community makes both stronger.
“Through our partnerships with the Chamber of Commerce and the city, we really are one family who is all rowing in the right direction and making Pittsburg a better place,” he said.
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