Nearly two years after breaking ground, Cedarville University will open its $40 million Scharnberg Business Communications Center on Monday, Aug. 26, at 11 a.m. The ceremony will be held in the new Stinger Plaza adjacent to the new building, which features landmark statues of Cedarville sports mascots.
Remarks at the ceremony will include Dr. Thomas White, Chancellor; Dr. Jeff Haymond, Dean of the Robert W. Plaster School of Business; and Dr. Will Smallwood, Vice President for Advancement. Also in attendance will be Daniel Petek, president of Castec Aluminum and chairman of Cedarville’s Board of Trustees, whose family donated the Stinger statue. Petek will deliver the dedication prayer.
The dedication ceremony will recognize key donors who funded the construction of the 65,000-square-foot building, including the Lorne C. Scharnberg Family, the Robert W. Plaster Foundation and the Berry Family Foundation. Representatives from BHDP Architects and Danis Construction will also participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Scharnberg Business & Communications Center is named in honor of Lorne C. Scharnberg. Mark Scharnberg, a 1997 graduate of Cedarville University and Lorne Scharnberg’s son, donated $10 million toward its construction on behalf of the Scharnberg family and their companies, Katecho and Surmasis Pharmaceuticals of Des Moines, Iowa.
Lorne Scharnberg is a trustee emeritus of Cedarville University. He joined the board in 1994 and served as chair for three terms before becoming a trustee emeritus in 2018. He has always been a champion of Cedarville University and its commitment to biblical fidelity and academic excellence.
“With the completion of the Scharnberg Center for Business and Communications, I am pleased that the quality of our facilities matches the quality of our faculty,” said Chancellor Thomas White. “Whether in the fields of business, communications or cybersecurity, this new center will enhance student engagement and learning, and above all, a place where lives will be changed forever.”
“Whether in the fields of business, communications or cybersecurity, this new center will enhance student engagement, learning and, most importantly, be a place where lives will be changed forever.”
The Scharnberg Business & Communications Center is the centerpiece of Cedarville’s $175 million “1,000 Days of Transformation Campaign,” one of the key components of which was to expand Cedarville’s teaching and learning capacity to accommodate a growing student population. Cedarville is scheduled to announce its 16th consecutive year of record student enrollment in September.
“The technological capabilities and innovative spatial design of this new facility reflect Cedarville’s commitment to academic excellence,” Haymond said. “The Plaster School of Business’s goal is to prepare students for a lifetime of service and ministry throughout their professional lives.”
The new Scharnberg Business and Communication Centre will provide excellent academic preparation and space for spiritual growth, and students are looking forward to experiencing it.
“I’m excited to be in a building that really inspires me,” said Will Woods, a sophomore marketing major from New Florence, Pa. “The collaborative rooms, professional atmosphere, and really cool décor and architecture will help me be more creative and productive.”
New classrooms will be among the building’s highlights, including a customizable auditorium that can accommodate more than 500 people for meetings or large classes, as well as an auditorium that can be divided to provide multiple teaching spaces.
In addition to large classrooms, the building also contains a state-of-the-art cybersecurity lab, faculty offices and a café, a new on-campus dining option offering quick and healthy options.
Built on the north shore of Cedar Lake, campus views from inside the building rival the beauty of its waterfront exterior with its windows and balconies, and students and visitors are drawn to the lakeside patio for photo ops with the Stinger statue.