Columbus State excels in business and technology.

Eamon Connor April 20, 2023 Business

Columbus State University Renames Business School

April 20, 2023

Columbus State University’s business school will now be known as the D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology. The name change was approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia after receiving input from various stakeholder groups, including students, employees, alumni, partners, and advisory council members. These groups favored emphasizing the role that both business and technology play in advancing the college’s strategic and competitive advantages.

Why the Change Was Made

Renaming the school encapsulates the essence of the college’s competitive advantage as a college rooted in both business and technology, according to Dean Deborah Kidder. Technology is now more than ever at the heart of business, and because the Turner College is AACSB accredited, business and technology are integrated through the curriculum, making it beneficial for students to learn both disciplines throughout their studies.

Kidder says that having “business” and “technology” in the college’s name indicates to prospective students, employers, and partners that the Turner College curriculum is versatile and contemporary. In the “technology” side of the college, programs in Management of Information Systems and Information Technology have been offered, and more recently, programs in Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity Management have been introduced with undergraduate and graduate-level degree offerings. The Turner College’s business disciplines also include traditional fields like business administration, accounting, finance, management, and marketing, as well as areas that include organizational leadership and servant leadership.

High Demand for Technology Professionals

Dean Kidder also acknowledges that the demand for technology professionals has been steadily increasing. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ recent job report indicated that the number of jobs in the tech sector has steadily increased, with an employment increase in 2022 of 28% over the same time in 2023.

About Don Abbott Turner

Don Abbott Turner was a Columbus-area business and philanthropic giant for more than six decades. He was the president and chairman of the boards of the W.C. Bradley Company and of the Columbus Bank and Trust, as well as a board member for Coca-Cola, Georgia Power, the Central of Georgia Railway, and the Bibb Company. After his wife, Elizabeth, passed away in 1972, Turner’s charitable support established Columbus State’s Center for Continuing Education, which has evolved into Continuing and Professional Education and is now housed in the Elizabeth Bradley Turner Center on CSU’s Main Campus.

TSYS School of Computer Science

The TSYS School of Computer Science will continue operating as a school within the college without change. In 2015, TSYS extended its support with a $5 million philanthropic investment in the Turner College, $2.5 million of which was to establish and name the TSYS Center for Cybersecurity, $2 million to establish the TSYS Endowment for Excellence academic programs offered in the TSYS School of Computer Science, with specific emphasis on mainframe computing, information technology, and information systems, and $500,000 to support other academic programs at the university.

Closing Thoughts

The renaming of the college coincides with the need for both business and technology disciplines in the workforce, indicating that graduates with a background in both fields will be in high demand. The Turner College of Business & Technology is based in the Synovus Center for Commerce and Technology on Columbus State’s Main Campus. The school expects to complete changing its signage and other references to the new name during the summer, and public celebrations will coincide with the start of the new academic year in August 2023.