$1M Kelley gift to finance tech, facility upgrade

Giving a presentation is one thing.

Giving a presentation and getting immediate feedback from clients around the world, while using state-of-the-art technology, is another.

With a $1 million gift from 3M Co., the IU Kelley School of Business is expecting a major upgrade in its physical facilities by creating a professional sales and communications lab for students.

“3M and Kelley have had a long collaborative relationship over the years,” said Dan Smith, dean of the Kelley School of Business. “They are a major recruiter of students, have provided multiple faculty fellowships and they are also a long time partner in our executive education programs.”

The lab will be a part of the school’s $60 million capital campaign that will include construction and renovation of its original building.

Expected in spring 2011, the new facility, which will be located in a remodeled portion of the Kelley undergraduate building, will include four individual rooms and one large room equipped with video cameras.

There will be different role-play rooms, a conference room for group presentations and a business center.

Smith said with the lab’s unique features, such as the latest technology being offered, it will not only allow students and faculty to critique work, but unlike a regular video session, the lab will allow for other people around the country to view the presentation as it’s going on for real-time feedback.

With their videotaped performances, students will be able to take their tapes to their future employers, as well as transmit their performance in real time to a classroom where others can make suggestions on what to improve, said Rosann Spiro, executive director for the center for global sales leadership.

“It will be a much more realistic setting than just going up in front of a classroom to make a presentation,” Spiro said. “It will move students further up the learning curve, and make them more valuable to employers.”

The center for global sales leadership, part of Kelley and funded through corporate sponsorship, is dedicated to promoting professional selling and sales management.

“We work with students to help get them work as well as give them opportunities as a place to start their career,” Spiro said.

With half of Kelley’s marketing students going into sales careers and 20 percent of finance and accounting and other majors within the school, Spiro said they have many students going into sales jobs at places such as 3M.

“3M has been a significant corporate partner to the center for seven years now,” said Diana Dingman, director of the center for global sales leadership. “Their commitment to invest in the development of professional sales education programs
is evident in the support they provide.”