Cunningham Reinvention Project is Underway

Since its dedication on Sept. 7, 1952, the building on the northwest corner of Maumee Avenue and South Anthony Boulevard, now known as Indiana Tech’s Cunningham Business Center, has been a venue for learning.

Back in the early 50s, the three-story structure was built on the grounds of what was then known as Concordia College to be the home of Concordia Lutheran High School. That was a big deal for the burgeoning high school; students no longer had to share classroom space with the college and they could stretch their brains in their own exclusive building.

After Indiana Tech purchased the Concordia College campus on July 23, 1953, and Concordia Lutheran made its move to its current home on North Anthony, Indiana Tech brought the “Anthony Building” into the fold. Every day since that purchase on Dec. 29, 1962, the building has played an integral role in the Indiana Tech educational experience.

Now, Indiana Tech leadership is making sure this building’s legacy of learning will continue for several more decades with the Cunningham Reinvention Project. Construction crews are already busy on the 42-acre campus on the east side of downtown Fort Wayne.

“The Cunningham Reinvention Project is just another example of Indiana Tech’s commitment to providing students with leading-edge tools and environments that will help them achieve success,” said President Arthur E. Snyder. “I am proud of my staff for its work in putting this project into motion, and I am eager to see the finished product.”

When the Cunningham Business Center reopens in January 2016, it will be a top-flight learning facility for Tech students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community at large. It will feature technologically savvy classrooms, collaborative spaces for teamwork, computer labs and media production facilities for creating and delivering online course content. In short, the strategic repurposing of this facility will keep students at the leading edge of education for years to come.

The new Cunningham will host:

• The College of Business
• The Advanced Learning Center
• The Instructional Media Classroom
• The Ph.D. in Global Leadership Center
• The Enterprise Center
• The Distance Learning Center
• The Warrior Information Network

The cost of the Cunningham Reinvention Project is $6.9 million. Money for the project is coming from alumni support, foundation support, corporate donations and the university itself. Fort Wayne companies Michael Kinder & Son, Summit Mechanical, Votaw Electric and Elevatus Architecture are guiding the project.

The Cunningham Business Center was named after two ardent supporters of Indiana Tech, Joseph P. and Carlie E. Cunningham, in 1999.

Mr. Cunningham was a successful executive at Essex International, serving as the company’s controller. After his retirement, Mr. Cunningham was elected to Indiana Tech’s Board of Directors in 1976. The following year, his business background helped the school navigate through a financial crisis that nearly closed the school. Mr. Cunningham was always a champion of business learning at Indiana Tech. He died in 1983.

Mrs. Cunningham was a homemaker and was active in Fort Wayne as a community volunteer well into her 90s. She and her husband would frequently provide free housing in their home to international students who came to Fort Wayne to attend Indiana Tech. After her husband’s death, she established the Mr. Joseph P. Cunningham Memorial Scholarship. Mrs. Cunningham died in 2008.