The Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico (UNM) opened the new Student Marketing Center on Nov. 24. The state-of-the-art center serves as a lab, studio, and collaborative learning space for students enrolled in upper-division marketing courses at Anderson. The facility also houses the UNM student chapter of the American Marketing Association.
“The completion of the two-month construction project is especially rewarding because I have seen time and again how talented, hardworking, and deserving these students are,” said Interim Dean Amy Wohlert.
Amenities in the 500 square-foot facility include four workstations with specialized creative and marketing research software, wireless Internet connectivity for laptops, video teleconferencing capabilities, and a LCD presentation system.
The Student Marketing Center’s much-anticipated opening comes one year after the project’s early planning and design stages, which involved input from students and faculty.
“Every square foot of the center was carefully planned with students’ needs in mind,” said Marketing Professor John Benavidez. Chris Fortson, a senior marketing student from Los Alamos, N.M., added, “The center is amazing and I plan to use it regularly. I used to work on school projects from home on a personal computer with limited capabilities, but not anymore.”
The facility was first proposed by school officials after MBA marketing students won the 2005 and 2006 Cadillac National Case Study Competition organized by EdVenture Partners (EVP). Anderson has partnered with Orinda, Calif. based EVP since 2005 to provide students the opportunity to apply academic theory to real-world marketing challenges faced by organizations such as General Motors, Subaru of America, and the U.S. Department of State.
EVP President Tony Sgro said “It's a credit to the administration at UNM to invest further in its already talented group of marketing students through the funding and opening of this new marketing center. When we work with clients in identifying best-fit campuses for their campaigns and programs, we always strongly encourage them to choose UNM for a coveted spot.
"The UNM Anderson School of Management has always been considered a top-tier program nationally and now, the bar has been raised even further with this new, impressive facility.”
The fine efforts of Anderson marketing students also benefit the local business community. Students in Catherine Roster’s marketing research classes develop and conduct marketing research studies for local businesses. Student teams have conducted over 100 projects within the last five years.
“The specialized research software in the center is the same used by blue-chip multinational corporations, advertising agencies and media companies to conduct in-depth analysis of markets,” said Roster. “Access to these tools gives students experience using them while providing local businesses with information they might not otherwise be able to gather.”
Marketing is among the most popular areas of concentration at the Anderson School with nearly 200 students enrolled.
For more about the center or client opportunities, contact John Benavidez at (505) 277-1263 or Dr. Catherine Roster at (505) 277-7109. To learn more about the UNM Anderson School go to http://www.mgt.unm.edu/