Virginia Tech has received major support for its proposed Global Business and Analytics Complex from its alumni at Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation through a $3-million campaign.
The campaign — spearheaded with contributions from alumni partners, principals, managing directors, and other Deloitte Hokies coupled with Deloitte Foundation matching gifts — will extend over the coming five years.
The Global Business and Analytics Complex is expected to consist of two academic buildings and two residential buildings for living-learning communities — and to serve as the new home for the Pamplin College of Business.
In addition to serving Pamplin, the complex will also bring together students and faculty from the College of Science, the College of Engineering and related analytics disciplines from across the university, creating a team-oriented learning environment.
A state-of-the-art lab for teaching and research in trading and analytics will be named for the Deloitte Foundation, per university Board of Visitors approval, in recognition of the Deloitte alumni and foundation contributions.
The 3,500-square-foot lab will be located in the Global Business and Analytics Complex, which will also house classrooms, offices, and team rooms for collaborative activities.
Kevin Lane, a principal in the advisory practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP, helped lead the fundraising initiative.
“Virginia Tech represents a strategically important relationship for Deloitte, and our people are proud to support this initiative,” said Lane, who received a bachelor’s and a master’s in accounting from Virginia Tech and serves in leadership roles on the Pamplin Advisory Council.
“Analytics education is critically important in helping to develop future business leaders, and the Global Business and Analytics Complex represents an opportunity to align interests between our two organizations.”
Deloitte and its network of member firms currently employ approximately 700 Virginia Tech alumni worldwide. It has been one of the top three employers of Virginia Tech graduates over the past seven years and is the top employer for Pamplin. In a recent recruiting period, Deloitte hired more than 50 of the college’s students for full-time and internship positions.
“We are deeply appreciative of the loyal support and generosity of our Hokies at Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation,” said Pamplin Dean Robert Sumichrast. “We’re building for a better business education, and their support for the Global Business and Analytics Complex will provide an enriched learning environment that will help ensure that students receive a top-notch, transformative education.”
Sally C. Morton, dean of the College of Science, said the support from Deloitte alumni will help solidify Virginia Tech’s leadership position in using data to make better decisions university-wide.
“Virginia Tech’s vision is to bring together a variety of disciplines from business, engineering, and science, among others, to shape graduates who will contribute to the state’s economic vitality,” said Morton. “Our transdisciplinary approach teaches both the data analytics skills graduates need and the critical thinking ability that employers want.”
Deloitte, Sumichrast said, has demonstrated long-term support of Pamplin’s mission and students.
Deloitte practitioners offer classroom presentations and guest lectures in more than 20 classes each school year and provide financial support to faculty and students.
As founding sponsors of Pamplin’s Center for Business Intelligence and Analytics, Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation work with the center to help advance analytics education and research through funding, consulting projects for student teams, advisory board service, and campus symposiums.
Five interdisciplinary fellowships for graduate student research in support of Virginia Tech’s Data and Decisions Destination Area vision were recently established.
Alumni at Deloitte previously helped establish the Deloitte Foundation Faculty Fellowship in Accounting and Information Systems, awarded in April to Assistant Professor Sarah Stein.
The trading and analytics lab reflects the ambitions of the $250-million Global Business and Analytics Complex, construction of which is a major priority for Virginia Tech.
As Virginia Tech aims to be a national model in transdisciplinary education, it is seeking to collaborate with business enterprises and other institutions to transform the educational experience for students, provide a pipeline of talent to meet employer needs, and promote economic development.
The complex, which will incorporate unique features for collaborative learning and problem-solving, is expected to accommodate a 20 percent increase in Pamplin enrollment and help Virginia Tech realize its goal of preparing students to thrive in a 21st-century marketplace that requires knowledge of how to use and interpret data in ways that are smart, efficient, and effective.
It will also further advance Virginia Tech’s Destination Areas and Strategic Growth Areas, which are focused on enhancing transdisciplinary engagement and collaboration by capitalizing on the institution’s academic and research strengths.
The Deloitte/Deloitte Foundation campaign follows a $2.1 million grant from the Marriott Foundation, announced in July. It is the latest in a series of private donations to support construction of the complex, for which fundraising is ongoing.
The Deloitte Foundation, founded in 1928, is a not-for-profit organization that supports education in the U.S. through a variety of initiatives that help develop the talent of the future and their influencers and promote excellence in teaching, research, and curriculum innovation. The foundation sponsors an array of national programs relevant to a variety of professional services, benefiting middle/high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, and educators. Learn more about the Deloitte Foundation.
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