Vision becomes a reality

R.W. Considine Hall officially opens for business

Lake Superior State University President Thomas Pleger formally cuts the ribbon to LSSU's R.W. Considine Hall, capping dedication ceremonies held April 21 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The three-year, $13.5 million project renovated South Hall - which dates back to the University's Army Fort Brady days more than 100 years ago - into a new home for LSSU's Lukenda School of Business. The state-of-the-art facility will be a resource for the Algoma Ontario/Eastern Upper Peninsula regions for the next 100 years. Looking on right of center - wearing glasses and a gray sweater - is retired LSSU president Tony McLain. LSSU Board of Trustees chair James Curran stands left of Dr. Pleger. Wielding oversized scissors are Dr. David Roland Finley and Prof. Mindy McCready, dean and chair, respectively, of the Lukenda School of Business. The Sault (Mich.) Chamber of Commerce Redcoats provided ribbon and scissors. (LSSU/John Shibley)

NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY

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SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Lake Superior State University officially dedicated its latest building, R.W. Considine Hall, during ceremonies held April 21. The new hall will house LSSU's Lukenda School of Business and provide state-of-the-art facilities for all campus programs.

The three-year, $13.5 million project took the existing 32,000 sq. ft. South Hall and added another 12,000 sq. feet to provide an interactive commons with an expanded café, new program and conference rooms, faculty offices and support spaces, a securities trading lab, the Frenchie LaJoie Board Room, and a Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation that will serve the twin Sault communities on both sides of the US and Canadian border.

Representing the State of Michigan, which provided 75% of the cost of construction through a capital outlay, were David Nyberg from Gov. Rick Synder's office, and Jan Miller from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. Also on hand was former LSSU President Tony McLain, who led a charge to renovate old South Hall into a new facility.

"It is symbolic that we rededicate this former Army building into a catalyst for education into the 21st Century," said Lake Superior State President Tom Pleger. "Our university started in 1946, the same that year Fort Brady ceased and thousands of veterans returning from World War II entered college through the G.I. Bill."

South Hall got its start in the early 1900s as an Army barracks, and was acquired by Lake State in 1946 as a branch campus of Michigan Tech in 1946. Over the years, South Hall has contained faculty offices, classrooms, the university bookstore, the Native American Center, and a math and science center. LSSU's Lukenda School of Business moved into the facility over the 2016 holiday break. Classes started in the building under its old name on Jan. 9.

"Congratulations on this historic event," said LSSU School of Business namesake, Lake State alumnus, and twin-Sault businessman Dr. Lou Lukenda in comments conveyed by President Pleger. "This spectacular new building will benefit students for decades to come. My wife Mae and I are humbled and honored to have played a part in this great accomplishment."

The LSSU Foundation raised $3.6 million in its capital campaign for the project - $600,000 more than expected - with the State of Michigan providing $9 million.

Building namesake Dr. Robert W. Considine partnered with LSSU's Foundation in 2014 - through his R.W. Considine Foundation - to push the project over a proverbial goal line by matching gifts up to $450,000.

"In all, 345 individuals, corporations, foundations and groups contributed to the fundraising campaign," said LSSU Foundation Executive Director Tom Coates. "Special recognition goes to area businesses that stepped up support the project. We are grateful to the more than 230 alumni contributors, many of whom are LSSU employees. Credit also goes to the LSSU Board of Trustees and Foundation Board of Directors and their leaders who championed the project and saw it to completion."

"I challenge the faculty, staff, and students to work hard and carry forward the high integrity of those for whom this facility and its business school are named," said LSSU Foundation Board Chair Chuck Schmidt, who also headed up the renovation campaign.

"R.W. Considine Hall reaches out to a community that extends south to US-10 in Lower Michigan, west to Escanaba and into the central UP to Iron Mountain, into Ontario towards Wawa in the in north and Elliot Lake to the east," said Dr. David Roland Finley, interim LSSU provost and dean of the Lukenda School of Business. "LSSU intends to be an engine for sustainable economic development throughout this entire region.

Representing LSSU students, graduating business major R.J. Holman said, "One of the lessons I've learned here is just how much Lake State puts its students first. You can see it in well over half of Considine's space, which is devoted to social and study areas."

Students studying for finals in rooms adjacent to the dedication ceremony nodded in approval.

Run a Web search on "LSSU Considine Hall" to read about the facility's development, which dates back to 2004, and its 2014-17 construction.