When Colorado State University planned the new building for its school of business, opened in April 2010, the process faced many obstacles that could have distracted from the foal of a technology-dense facility. This article is brief, but provides an outline for the process that resulted in the most advanced technology solution in the region.

“We were very lucky,” said Jon Schroth, director of Information Technology for the College. “Things could have blown up in a lot of ways,” he said, referring to the challenges of protecting the vision for a progressive technology plan for the building. “Because the technology is the last thing to go in, a lot of things can happen to the budget. Like if a water main breaks, it can cost $20,000… or if someone decides they want slate instead of tile.”

“There was a lot of resistance along the way, and a lot of things that could have killed it budgetarily,” he said. In spite of Schroth losing a lot of sleep over the whole process, CSU College of Business Dean Ajay Menon and Associate Dean John Hoxmeier championed the new technology plan. “That’s why it worked.”