Open for business

KENT, Ohio – Kent State University is taking the hands-on learning experience to the next level.

A core group of students worked directly with a construction company and contractor to help build a brand new, high-tech learning facility from start to finish.

Crawford Hall is now open to the public and open for business.

It is the largest building on the Kent State University campus.

The overall project was years in the making.

Students who participated in the construction process say the experience made their collegiate journey that much more worthwhile and prepared them for a future in architecture and management.

Kent State Senior Giana Testa’s passion for construction and development runs in the family.

Her father, Matthew, works in construction as a project manager, and she has watched his creativity and determination unfold before her.

“My dad was a big influence on choosing Construction Management for sure,” said Giana Testa, Kent State University senior in construction management.

Attending Kent State in her hometown and pursuing a degree in the field, she says, felt like an obvious and obvious option.

“Construction management is a really versatile degree. It’s almost like a specialized business degree. So I’ve had construction classes like planning and estimating, but I’ve also taken classes like marketing and management,” Testa said.

She says the highlight of her collegiate experience took place in Crawford Hall.

The four-story, approximately 150,000-square-foot building is now called a state-of-the-art business education center.

Testa and several of her classmates contributed to working in Crawford Hall.

“I love the final product — especially seeing it go from a parking lot, to the foundation, to the steel structure, to seeing all the interiors built,” Testa said.

All thanks to an internship over the past three summers with contractor and construction management leader Gilbane Building Company.

“I started this project in pre-construction in the summer of 2022 and I got to see it go through all the construction phases,” Testa said.

“We always make sure we get about four to five of our interns every year from Kent State. And the main reason for that is just the top talent is what we’ve found from this university,” Alex Harris, Project Manager at Gilbane Building Company. said.

Dean Deborah Spake of the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship guarded the hall and showed us the inner workings.

Some of the clear highlights include a massive collaborative staircase atrium, the 360-degree James R. Unger Global Forum, where students’ views are never obstructed during a lecture, and the Robert M. and Janet L . Archer Trading Lab with a real-time stock indicator.

“We have a student management investment fund. Our students manage $1.4 million in real money,” Spake said.

Natural lighting is an intentional focal point throughout the space.

“Where we stand on the ground floor when you look up at this main wall, we’re looking at 65 feet of glass,” Spake said.

Spake celebrates the completion of the project, as well as the donors and students who have been at the heart of Kent State’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

“It took eight years to raise the funds for this building in order to accomplish our goal. This building was built collaboratively,” Spake said.

Testa says the critical skills learned during her internship, such as assessment, monitoring and mentoring, have prepared her for the workforce.

“I really feel like I was part of the team and got a hands-on experience,” Testa said.

Kent State officials say they are working on additional internships and projects — where students can play a hands-on role.

Testa says she and several interns are signing on for full-time jobs with Gilbane after they graduate.

For a closer look at the completed project, click here.