Although students have been lining up to interview for months with some of the nation's best companies in the Marriott School's business career center, the new facility doesn’t officially open until Thursday, 16 Nov. BYU President Merrill J. Bateman, Marriott School Dean Ned C. Hill and benefactor Georgia A. White will participate in a brief ribbon cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. to open the center.
The Steven and Georgia White Business Career Center, located on the fourth floor of BYU’s Tanner Building, features 20 interview rooms, a hosting/presentation room, a career resource library and new offices for the expanded career placement staff.
“I’m confident the center will help us to build stronger partnerships with key firms,” said Ned C. Hill, dean of the Marriott School. “One of our goals is to increase the number and diversity of firms recruiting at the school.”
Significant funding for the center was provided by Georgia White in honor of her late husband, former National Advisory Council chair Steven White. The White endowment paid for the near $1 million cost to renovate and furnish the 6,700 square foot facility and provided the resources to hire additional career counseling staff.
Six of the center’s large interview rooms have built-in video-taping equipment for interview practice and recording. The center will also provide teleconferencing capabilities—allowing recruiters to conduct follow-up interviews from their corporate offices. Other features of the center include Internet access and a largely electronic, reference library.
Key recruiting firms such as Dow Chemical and KPMG have already stepped forward to fund and name rooms in the center. Both Dow and KPMG have funded large interview rooms. Other firms are in discussion with the school to name interview rooms, the resource library and the corporate presentation/hosting room. More than 100 companies recruit at BYU’s Marriott School.
“The center is a great addition to the school,” said Maurice Stocks, director of corporate development and career services, “but our students are what will ultimately sell recruiters.”
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally ranked programs in accounting, business management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The mission of the Marriott School is to educate men and women of faith, character and professional ability who will become outstanding managers and leaders throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Carrie Beckstead