A New Day for Business

by Cedarville Magazine Staff – March 30, 2020

The Milner Business Administration Building has served Cedarville well, but a new home for the School of Business Administration is on the horizon, the Lorne C. Scharnberg Business Center. This expanded and innovative space will help Cedarville train and inspire Christian business professionals for the 21st-century marketplace.

The School of Business Administration (SBA) provides a high-quality, academically excellent education that prepares students for career success the moment they graduate.

Since 1987, the SBA has occupied the Milner Business Administration Building, which originally opened in 1967 as the college library.

— Thomas White, President, Cedarville University

Milner is named for George S. Milner, founder of Milner Electric Company in Cleveland, Ohio, and an instrumental figure in the acquisition of Cedarville College by the Baptist Bible Institute (BBI) in 1953. He was a member of BBI’s Board of Trustees. In 1961, Cedarville awarded Milner an honorary Doctor of Humanities to recognize his contributions to the University.

Milner has served Cedarville well, but the time has come for one of the University’s largest schools, with 557 undergraduate and graduate students this year, to move into a space that will allow it to expand and grow.

To continue its long history of excellence, the new Scharnberg Business Center will provide the classroom, collaboration, and innovation space to be a 21st century leader in developing ambassadors for Christ in marketplaces across the world.

BUSINESS AS MISSIONS

The new facility will tell the story of business as missions while providing a space for excellent training and spiritual growth. The lobby will cast a vision for business leaders to align their God-given talents with their God-given passions in a vocational calling that finances the advancement of the Gospel.

The SBA desires to teach and train the best and brightest to lead the companies of tomorrow with a biblical worldview and to use their influence for Christ. The Scharnberg Business Center will be the place where our experienced and knowledgeable faculty can equip the next generation of entrepreneurs, marketers, financiers, managers, economists, and business data analysts to influence the world of business for the Gospel.

ONE FAMILY'S FAITHFULNESS

The new Lorne C. Scharnberg Business Center will spur on innovation and culture-shaping change. This new facility, which will be situated between the Stevens Student Center and the Dixon Ministry Center overlooking the north side of Cedar Lake, will equip and inspire a new generation of successful business professionals to use their vocations for Gospel influence.

The Scharnberg Family of Des Moines, Iowa, kicked off fundraising for the business center in October 2019 with the largest single gift in Cedarville’s 133-year history. Mark Scharnberg ’97, on behalf of his family and Katecho and Surmasis Pharmaceuticals, pledged $10 million to honor his father, Lorne C. Scharnberg, a faithful dad, beloved grandparent, innovative business owner, three-term Chairman of the Cedarville Board of Trustees, and tireless advocate for Cedarville. Scharnberg and his late wife, Kathi, founded Katecho, Inc. and Surmasis Pharmaceuticals.