February 22, 2007

New 18th District Assemblymember Mary Hayashi and Hayward Mayor Michael Sweeney were among the officials attending the Wednesday, Feb. 28 dedication of the Wayne and Gladys Valley Business and Technology Center at California State University, East Bay.

The ceremony, including a traditional ribbon-cutting and reception, will be held at 3:30 p.m. on the university's Hayward Campus, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd.

Joining university faculty, students and administrators at the dedication event were Hayward City Council members Bill Quirk and Barbara Halliday, former Oakland City Councilman Dick Spees and Hayward City Manager Jesus Armas.

The 67,000 square-foot center is the first new academic building on the Hayward Campus in more than 30 years. It will serve as a resource for all students at the university, providing a state-of-the-art home for programs in business, technology management, engineering, multimedia, science, and online degree programs.

Faculty and staff began moving their offices into the facility in December and the first classes in the building will be offered when the spring quarter begins on April 2.

The project cost more than $27 million. More than $10.5 million of that sum was contributed before ground was broken, in September 2004, by foundations, corporate supporters and individual donors. The largest single donor source was the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation.

The center houses the College of Business and Economics, which has about 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students.
The center's features include a 250-seat 8,600-square-foot multimedia presentation center, a 68-seat management case study room, 97 offices, 17 classrooms and labs, and eight conference rooms.

The center will provide advanced research opportunities in engineering, biology, chemistry, geology, and other fields. An information technology lab, developed in partnership with SBC, will enhance Cal State East Bay's K-12 teacher preparation program. The SBC Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center will train teachers to integrate information technology in the classroom.
With the capability to connect to the Internet2 and CalREN2-California's next generation educational network-teachers will have access to video server technology, simulation systems, and content manager gateways for training programs and labs.

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