At Portland State, business is booming—the School of Business Administration, that is. With a nationally recognized Master of Business Administration program and enrollment numbers hitting record highs, space inside Portland State’s SBA building is getting tight, and the building is in line for a major renovation. Luckily, the future of the SBA program and its students got a little brighter with a $250,000 donation from Tektronix last week.
SBA receives $250K donation
At Portland State, business is booming—the School of Business Administration, that is.
With a nationally recognized Master of Business Administration program and enrollment numbers hitting record highs, space inside Portland State’s SBA building is getting tight, and the building is in line for a major renovation. Luckily, the future of the SBA program and its students got a little brighter with a $250,000 donation from Tektronix last week.
The donation from the Beaverton-based tech company follows its previous gifts to engineering programs at both PSU and Oregon State University earlier this year. Tektronix sees the business program as a worthy investment for the university and the larger Portland community.
“What especially appeals to us about Portland State’s business program is the focus on preparing students for challenges they will face in real-world business environments,” Tektronix President Amir Aghdaei said in a press release.
“We’re also excited to participate in the creation of a new event space in downtown Portland for students and the broader community to enjoy.”
The contribution from Tektronix has been added to a list of donations from several local businesses and philanthropists who are eager to show support for the program, which in May saw an $8 million donation from an anonymous PSU alum. Together, their involvement will help fund construction of a new $60 million building to house the SBA.
Fundraising efforts for the new SBA building are being facilitated by a campaign group called Grow With Us. The group’s goal is to reach a total of $20 million in philanthropic gifts. Currently, the group is less than $7 million away from that goal. In addition to the funds raised by the program, the SBA will receive $40 million in state bonds.
According to Grow With Us, the expanded building will increase available space by more than 250 percent. It will conveniently house all business classes in one building to help students avoid having to run across campus to get to scattered classes. It will also include a full auditorium, designated work spaces, new offices for faculty and an open common space.
Construction of the new building is expected to begin in 2015, with the doors set to open to students by fall term of 2016.
