The College celebrated a milestone in 2021-2022 in a number of ways . First , the College became the recipient of the largest gift in Kent State history from Ambassador Edward F . Crawford . In recognition of this gift , the College was named the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship and Crawford Hall , the new home for the College , will open in 2024 . The new building will support innovative instruction , leading research and student support services for thousands of business majors , minors and others taking business courses across the Kent State system .

Crawford Hall will include approximately

Pictured at the Crawford Hall groundbreaking are Mary and Ambassador Edward F . Crawford , Dean Deborah F . Spake and Deborah and Matt Crawford .

We celebrated the official groundbreaking for Crawford Hall on March 8 , 2022 , with more than 400 university officials , donors , faculty , staff , alumni , students , elected officials and special guests in attendance . The College also launched the ASPIRE Entrepreneurial Workshop Series on March 8 , during which Ambassador Crawford shared his entrepreneurial journey and the importance of overcoming rejection with students and guests in attendance .

In academic year 2021-22 , the college announced more than $ 11 million in philanthropic gifts to name 29 spaces in Crawford Hall . These spaces will include state-of-the-art laboratory spaces for entrepreneurship , sales , behavioral research , business analytics and finance .

Kent State University broke ground on Crawford Hall , the future home of the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship , on March 8 , 2022 .

Another noteworthy achievement was the university receiving Research 1 ( R1 ) designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in December , further elevating the university ’ s status as a top-tier research institution .

The College ’ s graduate programs continued to receive impressive rankings , with the Business Analytics program ranking # 12 in Fortune ’ s Best Online Master ’ s in Business Analytics programs and the Online MBA ranking # 23 in The Princeton Review ’ s Top 50 Online MBA programs . The Online MBA program also achieved Quality Matters ( QM ) ™ Program Design and Learner Success Certifications , making it the first MBA program in the U . S . to achieve these certifications .

Business faculty continued to excel , receiving national and international recognition , including Dr . Serena Loftus being recognized by Poets and Quants and Dr . Wendy Tietz receiving Honorable Mention for the AICPA ’ s 2021 Bea Sanders / AICPA Innovation in Teaching Award . Faculty continued publishing in top academic journals and being sought out by national media for their expertise .

The pages that follow will serve as a look back on the 2021-2022 academic year as we continue to celebrate all that was accomplished .

Deborah F . Spake , Ph . D . Dean , Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship

Crawford Hall is designed to promote collaboration and will include spaces such as the Collaboration Staircase .

Construction on this state-of-the-art building is expected to be completed spring of 2024 . Crawford Hall will support innovative instruction , leading research and student support services for thousands of business majors , minors and others taking business courses across the Kent State system .

The Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship and Crawford Hall were named in honor of Ambassador Edward F . Crawford and his family , who provided the largest single philanthropic gift in Kent State history .

Crawford Hall will be one of the largest buildings on any Kent State campus to house an academic program and will provide 50 % more square footage than the existing business building .