February 21, 2018

$1 million donation brings business school closer to new building complex

WSU News Services

  • A $1 million donation has moved forward plans to build a new state-of-the-art building for the Barton School of Business.
  • The donation comes from members of the local Bastian family, owners of Fidelity Bank and Fidelity Bank Foundation.
  • Once built, the 136,000-square-foot complex will replace Clinton Hall as the home for the Barton School of Business.

Plans to build a new, state-of-the-art building for the Barton School of Business got a boost with a $1 million donation.

The donation comes from members of the local Bastian family, owners of Fidelity Bank and Fidelity Bank Foundation.

Once built, the 136,000-square-foot complex will replace Clinton Hall, constructed in 1970, as the home for the Barton School of Business.

It will be designed to foster collaboration and interconnectivity among students, faculty and partners in the business community.

Plans also call for designating space for companies that want to locate satellite offices there to participate in applied learning opportunities for students.

The gift of $1 million brings to $11.5 million the private funds raised so far for the new facility. Of the projected $50 million cost, half is expected to come from private donations and the remainder from university funds.

The project is the top priority of the WSU Foundation’s Shock the World fundraising campaign for Wichita State.

“This is a special opportunity to ensure that future generations will benefit from real-world educational experiences and meaningful collaboration at the Barton School on the Innovation Campus,” says Clark Bastian, Fidelity Bank CEO and a WSU business school graduate.