Metro State University and Minneapolis College held a ribbon-cutting event on Friday, November 22, to open the newly renovated Management Education Center at 1300 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, with administrators, faculty, community leaders, and students discussing the impact the new facility will have on educational access and opportunity for prospective students throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Students will benefit from the $22.5 million project designed to provide seamless educational pathways, direct access to the vibrant business community and numerous professional opportunities. The bonding bill passed during the 2023 legislative session funded the project and building occupation is expected to begin in January 2025. Metro State and Minneapolis College are deeply grateful to Senator Scott Dibble, Representative Fue Lee, and Representative Frank Hornstein for their support in making this vision a reality.
The newly renovated Management Education Center is a combined business school building for both Minneapolis College and Metropolitan State University. Accessible resources and learning pathways allow students to pursue an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral level education on the Minneapolis College campus. Together, the Minneapolis College School of Business and Economics and Metro State University College of Business and Management envision a seamless educational pathway for our students.
Construction on the project began in September 2023, with a comprehensive renovation of floors one, two, and four of the Old and New Harmon buildings, collectively known as the MEC. The completed renovations address numerous space improvement needs, providing a thermally reliable environment with more offices and classroom seats to accommodate program growth. Specifics of the new Management Education Center include:
- 18 classroom/computer labs
- 15 32-student classrooms
- Three 50-student classrooms
- Private offices and shared offices for faculty and staff
- Student breakout spaces
- Student lounge spaces
- Entrepreneur space
- Graduate resource space
- Open computer lab
- Audio video recording space
Along with the necessary structural upgrades, the Management Education Center renovation also addresses several broader-reaching goals, including:
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Creating a dynamic space that will increase the number of baccalaureate awards in Business, Accounting and Economics, particularly among students of color.
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Establish an entrepreneurial hub at the edge of downtown Minneapolis that will support the entrepreneurial aspirations of the college’s students and provide support to new and existing small businesses.
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Streamline the campus environment, putting faculty, advising, classrooms and collaboration areas all in the same space.
Together, Minneapolis College and Metro State University are among the most diverse campuses in Minnesota, with nearly 60% of students identifying as being members of the
Indigenous or communities of color, international, low-income, or first-generation. As employers look to expand diversity in the workforce, the Management Education Center is poised to be the pipeline for talent right in the city.
About Minneapolis College
Minneapolis College is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system and offers students more than 100 liberal arts, career and technical programs designed to prepare them for good jobs in high-demand professions or to transfer to a four‐year college or university. Located in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, more than 10,000 students enroll annually in credit and non-credit programs. The College’s Foundation provides scholarships and emergency assistance awards to highly motivated, low-income students. Without this support, most of these students would be unable to pursue their academic dreams. For additional information, please visit Minneapolis.edu.
About Metro State University
Metro State University Founded in 1971, Metro State University, a member of Minnesota State, is the Twin Cities public, urban, comprehensive state university providing lifelong learning and
competitive academic and professional degree programs at the bachelor, master and doctoral levels. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate programs and more than 25 graduate
degrees. Metro State ranks 22nd in the nation and first in Minnesota on CollegeNet’s Social Mobility Index, which measures colleges’ and universities’ success in elevating students from low-income strata into the middle class within five years of graduation. To learn more, visit metrostate.edu.