College of Business Administration to dedicate Savage & Associates Complex Nov. 5
By Bob Mackowiak : November 3rd, 2009The University of Toledo College of Business Administration will dedicate the new Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement Thursday, Nov. 5, at 1:30 p.m.
“This will be a remarkable day of achievement for The University of Toledo, the College of Business Administration, the students we serve, and our partners in the business community,” said UT President Lloyd Jacobs. “With more than 3,400 students currently preparing for their futures in the global business arena, this 54,000-square-foot facility is an essential expansion that will provide the sophisticated environment requisite of superior business schools such as ours.”
The Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement includes 10 state-of-the-art classrooms seating from 30 to 125 students; five breakout rooms with videoconferencing capabilities; eight conference rooms; the 40-seat FirstEnergy Boardroom, and a rooftop garden.

This view shows the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement from West Bancroft Street.
The complex also includes five action-learning labs where students can sharpen their business skills through recordable training sessions, team projects and hands-on experience. They are the:
• Richard W. and Martha McEwen Information and Technology Management Lab;
• John B. & Lillian E. Neff Trading Room;
• PNC Entrepreneurship Lab;
• Huntington Professional Sales Lab; and
• Ernst & Young LLP Leadership Lab.
The Savage & Associates Complex also will serve as an enhanced portal to the regional business community. It has suites for the region’s largest MBA/EMBA programs, the Executive Center for Global Competitiveness, Center for Family & Privately Held Business, Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Ronald Langenderfer Office of Business Career Programs, the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales, and the Institute for Supply Chain Management and Information Assurance.
“Our positive relationship with the region’s business community enables us to provide real-world experience to our students,” said Dr. Thomas Gutteridge, dean of the UT College of Business Administration. “At the same time we want businesses to know that the knowledge and expertise within the college are here to help them, and that the Savage & Associates Complex will be a focal point for businesses to access these resources.”
Reflective of both the high technology within the complex and the global impact of business in the 21st century, former UT President Dan Johnson will speak at the dedication ceremony via videoconference from the United Arab Emirates, where he is provost at Zayed University.
“Dan Johnson was president of UT when this project started, and his participation in this dedication from the other side of the world is consistent with the global reach of the UT College of Business,” Gutteridge said.
Dan Steinberg, co-president and CEO of Savage & Associates, said, “This essential project was supported by talented professionals throughout Savage & Associates. We recognize the excellent educational programs provided at the UT College of Business Administration and how a remarkable building such as this complex truly facilitates learning. We thank all the businesses, donors and sponsors who made this complex a reality.”
Before the building dedication, the College of Business Administration will have a private ceremony to formally name the John B. and Lillian E. Neff Department of Finance, and the John B. and Lillian E. Neff Trading Room in the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement.
“The Neffs have been outstanding and enduring patrons of our business students,” Gutteridge said. “The college’s trading room would not exist without their extremely generous gifts. We are honored to name the Department of Finance after John B. and Lillian E. Neff, whose leadership will impact and inspire thousands of business students for years to come.”
Gutteridge added, “The current global economic situation further crystallizes that a UT business degree can strengthen one’s future. As the college pursues its mission to develop lifelong leaders for the world of business, the new Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement will provide an enriched setting for their educational journey.”
Work will continue inside the building after the dedication to prepare the facility for classes beginning in January. A schedule of dates and times will be announced in January so UT faculty, staff and students can tour the Savage & Associates Complex.
