Southern Adventist University celebrated the grand opening of its new $24 million Ruth McKee School of Business on Oct. 2, marking the completion of a donor-funded project that provides more than 400 business students with a dedicated academic home.
The four-story building, named for the late cofounder of McKee Foods, was constructed through private contributions, with nearly 600 gifts helping finance the project. University officials said the building was completed debt-free without increasing student tuition.
The grand-opening ceremony brought together members of the McKee family, university administrators, faculty, students, alumni, donors and elected officials. Speakers reflected on the history of the university’s relationship with the McKee family, the need for a dedicated business-school facility and the opportunities the new building will provide.
“Today, we dedicate more than a building,” Southern President Ken Shaw said. “We celebrate a legacy. We invest in a new generation.”
Shaw, a 1980 Southern graduate, said the university’s investment in the school extends beyond its physical facilities. Students will study accounting, finance, marketing, management, economics, entrepreneurship and other business disciplines while developing the skills and values needed to succeed professionally.
“The true impact of this building will not be measured by its square footage, its classrooms, its technology, or even its beauty,” Shaw said. “Its impact will be measured by what happens inside these walls and by what happens when our graduates leave them.”
Ron Smith, chairman of Southern’s board of trustees, emphasized that the project was funded through donations and pledges from alumni and other university supporters.
“Student tuition has not risen a cent to make this vision possible,” Smith said.
A dedicated home for business education
For Franklin Farrow, a 1993 Southern graduate who chaired the fundraising campaign, the opening represents the realization of a vision he and School of Business Dean Stephanie Sheehan had been developing for years.
Farrow recalled that other academic departments had dedicated buildings while the business school lacked a comparable facility.
As a student, he said, he sometimes met with professors in cramped offices, sitting with his chair partly in the hallway while discussing assignments and projects.
“It just wasn’t the right place for us to conduct business and the education of business,” Farrow said.
He and Sheehan envisioned a facility that would give the business school a stronger presence on campus and provide the space needed to carry out its academic programs.
Farrow said the university’s investment in business education also benefits the surrounding community, where Southern graduates have gone on to work for companies including Morning Pointe and McKee Foods.
He described the new school as an opportunity to continue preparing graduates who bring leadership, strong work habits and a commitment to service into their professions.
Sheehan said the school’s educational approach combines academic and professional preparation with Southern’s Christian mission.
The university refers to that approach as “missional business,” which encourages students to view their careers as opportunities to serve others and apply their faith in professional settings.
“We want our young people to be the best in their field,” Sheehan said.
A legacy rooted in Collegedale
The new building also commemorates a long-standing relationship between Southern Adventist University and the McKee family.
O.D. and Ruth McKee met in the 1920s while attending what was then Southern Junior College. They eventually married and established the bakery business that grew into McKee Foods, the Collegedale-based company known for its Little Debbie snack cakes.
That relationship took on additional significance in 1956, when a fire destroyed the building that housed the college’s furniture-making operation.
Using insurance proceeds, the college approved construction of a 100-by-300-foot building that it leased to the McKees for a bakery. The arrangement provided employment for Southern students, allowing them to earn money to help pay for their education.
Shaw was among the students who later benefited from that opportunity.
He recalled working four-hour shifts on the Nutty Bar production line, handling an estimated 24,000 bars during each shift. At the time, he said, he never imagined he would someday return as university president to dedicate a school bearing Ruth McKee’s name.
Ruth McKee, who died in 1989 at age 82, was an important figure in the company’s development. Her granddaughter, Debbie Fowler, told those attending the ceremony that although O.D. McKee was widely regarded as the public face of the business, Ruth was its “quiet backbone.”
She managed plant operations, kept the books and purchased ingredients and packaging during the bakery’s early years. Fowler also described her grandmother’s commitment to fairness, integrity and treating others with dignity and respect.
The family hopes those values will continue to influence students who attend the school, she said.
An investment in future generations
Senior business student Chase Slikkers, who’s majoring in cybersecurity, offered a student’s perspective on the new facility.
Slikkers praised the four-story building’s appearance, spacious rooms, stock ticker and student leadership spaces, where he’s already had conversations with professors about projects, club activities and assignments.
But he suggested that the building’s most important contributions might be less tangible.
He described how conversations with professors can encourage students to reconsider their plans, pursue unexpected opportunities and challenge themselves in ways they had not anticipated.
“We’ll never truly know the impact that the school of business will have because the impact is more than the physical structure,” Slikkers said.
State Rep. Greg Vital, a Southern graduate and former McKee employee, also reflected on the connection between the university, the company and the local economy.
Vital recalled working at McKee Baking Company while attending Southern and said the income helped him pay for his education. He credited that experience with providing a foundation for his work ethic and subsequent career.
He also praised Farrow, the university and the McKee family for completing the project without incurring debt.
The ceremony concluded with a dedication, ribbon-cutting and an opportunity for attendees to explore the new facility.
For Shaw, the opening marked both the continuation of a relationship that began generations ago and an investment in the students who will carry that legacy forward.
“Whatever their profession, our hope is that they will leave Southern understanding that success is not measured only by what they accomplish, but also by who they become,” he said.