Second in our "Life in other colleges" series
In the student lounge of the Whitinger Business Building, students gather to study, eat lunch, grab a snack or listen to music to kill some time between classes. Amongst the chatter of other students' conversations, seniors Lauren Bashenow and Stephanie Lipkin are hard at work preparing for a midterm.
Bashenow, a human resource and financial planning major, spends her full 18 credit hours in Whitinger, making it her home away from home. Lipkin, a human resource major and organizational communications minor, spends 9 of her credit hours in Whitinger, in addition to countless hours of study time and group meetings spent in the Miller College of Business.
For students studying business, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, accounting and more, Whitinger has become more than just a classroom. It serves as a place to interact, relax and most importantly, prepare students for the future.
At the heart of campus, just north of Bracken Library and adjacent to the Bell Tower, Whitinger houses the five departments that make up the Miller College of Business. Whitinger also includes four centers of excellence, where students can achieve real-world business experience.
Although time and development in society has changed many aspects of the way students learn and interact, professor of business and marketing Rod Davis explained that he hasn't noticed any real differences in his students from past to present.
"I think it's easy for faculty over time to see previous students through rose-colored glasses, but I can't say I see that. It's interesting to see students walking to class talking on their cell phones or listening to their iPods, but I think the fundamentals of college student life have stayed the same over time. I've always had great students that are great people," Davis said.
Students that spend the majority of their time in Whitinger have created their own list of pros and cons of their surroundings. Lipkin is pleased with the convenience and organization the building has to offer.
"Having the majority of my classes here makes it so convenient. Everything is organized by department, and it's easy to become familiar with your professors and classmates," Lipkin said. Despite the convenience and functionality, some students want to see change in Whitinger.
"I love that we have a student lounge and we can eat and study here, but I wish the building was more comfortable with more couches and places to relax," Bashenow said.
Completed in 1979, the all-brick, three-story building was named after Ralph J. Whitinger, a Ball State alumnus, supporter and benefactor of the university. It was designed to serve as a commonplace for business education, which, prior to its completion, was spread out between separate buildings on campus. According to an article from the Ball State Daily News dated March 27, 1978, the $5,575,000 building was also designed to provide interior flexibility and innovative ways to conserve energy and easy access to handicapped students.
Davis, who has taught and worked in Whitinger since the day it opened, remembers when the grounds of the building were merely an open field.
"It's hard to imagine, but all this used to be walking grounds to get from Noyer or Studebaker to the Teacher's College. It has definitely come a long way since then," Davis said.
After completing his undergraduate degree, teaching marketing and business education for 35 years and serving as associate dean and interim dean of the Miller College of Business all at Ball State, Davis has spent the majority of his career in Whitinger as well.
"I would consider this place my second home," Davis said. "It has become a comfort in my life and I have been very fortunate to have spent my career here."
In its 31 years of existence, Whitinger has undergone many subtle renovations. While keeping its basic layout, the building has received minor "face-lifts" by switching ‘70s and ‘80s themed design for a more modern appeal, such as getting new paint, carpet, furniture and technology.
The most recent addition to the building is the A. Umit Taftali Center for Capital Markets and Investing, more casually deemed the "situation room" or "trading lab." This center, set up as a computer lab with a stock ticker measuring the front of the room, was designed to mimic the Wall Street trading room, providing students with a feel of the real world financial environment.
According to Associate Dean to the Miller College of Business Brien Smith, the advances in technology such as the new Taftali Center are what make Whitinger special to students and faculty.
"We're always looking for ways for students to become more interactive in the classroom. It's important for students to be prepared for what the real-life business world throws at them, and this building allows students to do that," Smith said.
Whitinger provides a variety of interactive rooms where students can get the hands-on experience employers are looking for. The Network Security Lab features a dual-sided computer lab where students learn to hack into networks, a hands-on way to teach students how to protect against cyber-attacks. The Entrepreneur Design lab was designed as a functional conference room with movable furniture and white boards simulating a professional environment for students to engage in video conferences or group meetings. In addition to these labs, the building is also equipped with rooms made to look like real-world offices. Here, students practice making sales with other students and clients, and are encouraged to review their performance by watching videos recorded of their mock sales.
"Employers have said that Ball State students are a year or so ahead of their colleagues, and I think it's because we've given them the real-world experience they need to succeed," Smith said.
Although Whitinger has adapted new technology, many students think it fails to compare to other technologically advanced buildings such as the David Letterman Communication and Media Building as well as business education facilities at other universities. Davis explained that these up-to-date facilities require a lot of money spent by the university, which at this point in time is not pertinent.
"In 30 years, this building has been very well maintained. It may not be a showplace or the latest facility, but since we have not outgrown it yet, minor changes are much more valuable than creating an entire new building," Davis said.
In years to come, Whitinger is expected to continue its evolution into a technologically advanced center for students to learn, prepare and relax.
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