Scheller College of Business

The Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business was established more than a century ago and has a distinguished history as part of a world-renowned technological research university. Georgia Tech's business school began in 1912 with the creation of a School of Commerce. In 1933 this school was moved to the University of Georgia during the newly created Georgia Board of Regents' decision to consolidate Georgia's system of higher education.[7] It would later become Georgia State University.[8]

To meet the need for management training in technology, an Industrial Management degree was established in 1934, with a master's degree in the subject becoming the first professional management degree offered in the state 11 years later. The PhD program began in 1970.

In 1989, the College of Management, previously named the School of Commerce, combined with the social sciences, humanities, and economics departments to form the Ivan Allen College of Management, Policy and International Affairs.[9] Nine years later, in 1998, the College of Management separated from the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts[10] to become its own college.

In 1996, Georgia Tech alumnus and restaurateur Thomas E. DuPree, Jr. pledged a $20 million donation to the College of Management, resulting in the College being named the DuPree College of Management in his honor. However, while DuPree donated over $5 million to the College, his name was removed from the College in 2004 when the additional $15 million was not forthcoming.[11] DuPree had recently resigned as board chairman and CEO of Avado Brands, the parent company of several chain restaurants that had recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a carefully worded statement, Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough remarked that while DuPree's name would be "reluctantly" removed from the college, "We retain the utmost respect for Tom DuPree and all of his remarkable accomplishments and many philanthropic activities."[12] DuPree's donation of over $5 million to the College did fund nearly 200 scholarships although the remaining pledged donations were never provided.

On November 6, 2009, the College of Management received an anonymous gift of $25 million. The donor was later identified as Ernest Scheller, Jr., a Georgia Tech alumnus with a degree in Industrial Management (now known as a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration) and former chairman of Silberline Manufacturing, a Philadelphia-based pigment manufacturer. Scheller used $20 million of his donation as a one-to-one challenge grant designed to inspire charitable gifts and commitments from other donors. Fundraising for the challenge concluded on June 30, 2012. The remaining $5 million of Mr. Scheller's initial $25 million donation has been designated as discretionary funds to be dispersed by the deans.

In June 2012, the College announced a $50 million gift from Ernest Scheller Jr. This $50 million included the $25 million that had been given by him anonymously in 2009. It was the largest cash gift in Georgia Tech's history. As a result of Mr. Scheller's gift, the College of Management was renamed the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business and his donations have been used to double the College's endowment, enriching academic programs, growing the faculty, and strengthening the Ph.D. programs, among other uses.[13]

The Scheller College of Business in Tech Square

In 2000, Georgia Tech undertook a $180 million building project in Atlanta called Technology Square. This new multi-building complex, home to the College of Business, is a fusion of business, education, research, and retail space. The complex also houses The Global Learning Center, Advanced Technology Development Center, Economic Development Institute, Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development as well as the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. The facilities are located in Midtown Atlanta next to several major corporate headquarters such as Bellsouth (AT&T), The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. and Earthlink.

The purpose of Technology Square is to promote the formation of a high tech business cluster centered around a premier research university. Similar formations have taken place in cities such as Palo Alto and Boston, both nexuses of thriving high-tech corridors.[14]

On November 24, 2006 the Scheller College of Business dedicated the state of the art, 2,000-square-foot (190 m²) Ferris-Goldsmith Trading Floor. The trading floor includes fifty-four dual-display computers as well as electronic stock information on the walls and is used to train all levels of management students to use financial analysis and electronic trading tools. Business faculty will use the facility to research improved human performance in trading environments as well as create new financial service models.[15] The trading floor houses Tech's Quantitative and Computational Finance program.

In September 2018, Georgia Tech announced the beginning of the Tech Square Phase III initiative. The two-tower complex will add more than 400,000 gross square feet of space to Tech Square.

One of the two planned high-rises, Scheller Tower, will be a new resource for the Scheller College of Business that expands the College’s footprint within Tech Square, thanks to a generous philanthropic commitment made by Roberta and Ernest Scheller Jr. in support of the project.[16] The earliest the building will open is in 2022.[17]

• List of United States business school rankings
• List of business schools in the United States
• List of Atlantic Coast Conference business schools

• Scheller College of Business
• Article on the College of Business from the New Georgia Encyclopedia