Northwood University will construct a new $15 million building for its Center for Automotive and Mobility Studies (CAMS) program, which makes it one of the largest projects in the university’s history.
Northwood is a private school in Midland that specializes in education in management and entrepreneurship.
Its President, Kent MacDonald said in an address at the school's Freedom Celebration that with the help of this new program, Northwood intends to be the country’s leader in automotive industry education.
“Northwood is proud to be America’s free enterprise university and we’re committed to continue to walk at the head of that thin column,” he said in the speech.
The building will house these programs:
- Automotive marketing and management degree
- Automotive aftermarket management degree
- Aftermarket professional training and certifications
- Master’s programs in automotive industry
It will also host the automotive professional development education and industry research, Northwood University International Auto Show and Aftermarket Club registered student organization.
The building will be named in honor of Alan Jay Wildstein, who is one of the donors for this project.
The facility will replace the university’s hotel and conference center. It will be fully operating by 2026, according to the press release.
Mathew Bennet, vice president of strategic alliances and CAMS, said the university has heard from the auto industry that it needs more education and training for its workers. That’s why Northwood wants to prepare talents to go into the auto business.
“We’ve become an industry leader in the automotive space, but we also understand the evolution of the automotive and mobility sector as a whole,” Bennet said. “We want to make sure that we provide our students with exposure training and education on all those areas so that they can be dynamic leaders in that industry.”
The project was funded by two $5 million donations, which comprised over 60% of the final estimated cost. The donors were alumnus Wildstein, a founder and CEO of the Alan Jay Automotive Network, and Reynolds and Reynolds.
Additionally, Arthur Brooks, a New York Times bestselling author and Harvard professor, delivered a speech at the President’s Freedom Celebration last night. He said some Northwood University faculty will come to his lab at Harvard and learn how to teach a Happiness class.
“I feel at home (at Northwood University) after only two visits,” he said. “This can be the university that is the essence of bringing American back to its happiness promise that the founders gave to us.”
Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated that the project was funded by two $5 donations. It is two $5 million donations. The two donors for the project have also been added after being left out in a previous version of the story.
