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The centers finally moved in together this fall, after years of separate residences.

Center directors, from left to right: Mike Kercheval (CUREC), Kathryn Wendell (CESR), Brian Lewandowski (BRD) and Sheila Duffy (Burridge).听听听 听

Four of the Centers of Excellence at the Leeds School of Business now share a remodeled suite on the third floor鈥攁 sunlit space with glass walls that allows for more face-to-face interaction than ever before.听The centers are Leeds鈥� gateway to industry, and they share the mission of enhancing the student experience through experiential learning, academic research, community engagement and industry exposure.

鈥淭he power of the centers is their synergy and alignment of interest.听Now that we are physically together, it鈥檚 amazing how casual hallway conversations blossom into creative ideas and solutions,鈥� said Mike Kercheval, executive director of the CU Real Estate Center (CUREC).

CUREC shares the 鈥楥enters Suite鈥� with the Burridge Center for Finance, the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR), and the Business Research Division (BRD). All that鈥檚 missing is the fifth Center of Excellence, the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, which occupies space in the new Rustandy Building in order to leverage synergies with the engineering school.

In September, the four centers hosted an open house for all students, faculty and staff. The new co-location will make it easier for all to take advantage of their rich resources, said Stephanie Gillin, associate dean of administration. What鈥檚 more, she听added, is that 鈥渢he co-location will inspire 鈥榗asual collisions鈥� that yield new ideas and connections.鈥�

Sheila Duffy, executive director of the Burridge Center, agreed. 鈥淭he new centers鈥� space is open and bright and ripe for collaboration.听The shared space is so beneficial as we all work to support our students, faculty and external relationships.听In this space, we are able to easily have offline conversations, share ideas and work together on various initiatives to enhance the academic experience at Leeds.鈥�

The centers provide research topics for faculty, best practices for organizations, close connections with industry partners and hands-on learning experiences for students. They also sponsor numerous programs, events and special projects that inform and inspire academia and the professionals living and working in our local community.

And countless synergies between their areas of focus make collaboration a no-brainer.

鈥淎t CESR we are thinking about how to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into business strategy and operations. The new space facilitates collaboration so that this isn鈥檛 just a CESR conversation鈥擨t can become a much larger conversation that involves all centers, students and faculty,鈥� said Kathryn Wendell, executive director of CESR.

In addition, each center can inform other efforts with their areas of expertise. BRD provides the general economic outlook for Colorado鈥檚 economy several times a year, which directly affects the programs and experiences offered schoolwide. BRD鈥檚 executive director, Brian Lewandowski, thinks there are many ways they can learn from one another.

鈥淐lose proximity to the centers helps keep me more informed about their interesting and diverse initiatives that impact students and the broader community,鈥� he said.

The Leeds community looks forward to exciting new partnerships and a wealth of new opportunities ahead.