Open for business: Kent State students play hands-on role in development of new sprawling business building

KENT, Ohio — Kent State University is taking the hands-on learning experience to the next level.

A core group of students worked directly with a building and contractor company to help build a brand-new, high-tech learning facility from start to finish.

Crawford Hall is now open to the public and open for business.

It’s the largest building on Kent State University’s campus.

The overall project was years in the making.

The students who participated in the building process say the experience made their collegiate journey much more worthwhile and prepared them for a future in architecture and management.

Kent State Senior Giana Testa’s passion for building and developing runs in the family.

Her father, Matthew, works in construction as a project manager, and she’s watched his creativity and determination unfold before her.

“My dad was a big influence in choosing Construction Management for sure,” Giana Testa, Kent State University senior in construction management, said.

Attending Kent State in her hometown and pursuing a degree in the field, she says, felt like a clear, obvious option.

“Construction management is a really versatile degree. It’s almost like a specialized business degree. So, I’ve had construction classes like scheduling and estimating, but I’ve also taken classes like marketing and management,” Testa said.

She says the highlight of her collegiate experience has occurred at Crawford Hall.

The four-story, approximately 150,000 square foot building is now dubbed a state-of-the-art hub for business education.

Testa and some of her classmates contributed to working on Crawford Hall.

“I love the final product—especially seeing it go from a parking lot, to just foundations, to steel structure, to seeing all the interiors be built out,” Testa said.

It’s all thanks to a hands-on internship over the past three summers with contractor and construction management leader Gilbane Building Company.

“I started at this project in pre-construction in summer of 2022 and got to see it transition through all the construction phases,” Testa said.

“We always make sure we have about four our five interns each year from Kent State. And mainly the reason for that is just top talent is what we’ve found from this university,” Alex Harris, Project Manager at the Gilbane Building Company, said.

Dean Deborah Spake of the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship championed the hall and showed us the inner workings.

Some of the clear highlights include a massive atrium with the Collaboration Staircase, the 360-degree James R. Unger Global Forum, where students’ views are never obstructed during a lecture, and the Robert M. and Janet L . Archer Trading Lab with a real-time stock ticker.

“We have a student management investment fund. Our students manage $1.4 million in real money,” Spake said.

The natural lighting is an intentional focal point throughout the space.

“Where we’re standing on the first floor when you look up at this main wall, we are looking at 65 feet of glass,” Spake said.

Spake celebrates the project’s completion, as well as the donors and the students who have been at the core of Kent State’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

“It took eight years to fundraise for this building in order to meet our goal. This building was built on collaboration,” Spake said.

Testa says the critical skills learned through her internship, such as estimating, monitoring, and mentorship, have readied her for the workforce.

“I really feel like I was part of the team and got a hands-on experience,” Testa said.

Kent State officials say they’re working on additional internships and projects—where students can play a hands-on role.

Testa says she and several interns are signing on for full-time jobs with Gilbane after they graduate.

For a closer look at the completed project, click here.