New Scharnberg Business Center dedicated

By Avonlea Brown

On Monday, August 26, at 11 a.m. Cedarville University students, faculty, trustees and donors gathered in the new Stinger Plaza for the dedication of the Scharnberg Business Center. 

The namesake of the building is Lorne C. Scharnberg, a trustee emeritus who served three consecutive terms as chair starting in 1994 before transitioning to emeritus status in 2018. Scharnberg’s son, Mark Scharnberg, wanted to honor his father and his passion for business; he donated $10 million, the largest gift in the university’s history, to the building plans and gained naming rights. 

“I never doubted that [Scharnberg] wanted what was best for me, for Cedarville, and for the school of Business,” said White in that morning’s chapel about Lorne Scharnberg. “And I probably wouldn’t be here today without his constant mentoring and friendship.” 

Plans for the building were shared at the 2018 Homecoming, four years later a groundbreaking ceremony took place and the building was finished in the summer of 2024. At the dedication, Cedarville president Dr. Thomas White remarked that the university finally had a building whose quality on the outside matched that of the faculty inside. 

“Business is my life, it always has been, Cedarville just never had the facilities for it” said Lorne Scharnberg. “It is a great joy to finally have a building on this campus to promote recruitment and the turning out of men and women of God in business.” 

Dr. Will Smallwood, Vice President of Advancement, opened the ceremony, shared his thoughts and hopes for the new building. Dean of the Robert W. Plaster school of Business Jeff Haymond and Dr. White spoke on the hours of hard work and dedication many people poured into creating a new space for students to flourish. Daniel Petek, president of Castek Aluminum and chair of Cedarville’s Board of Trustees, gave the dedication prayer. The ribbon was then cut by Smallwood, White, Petek, Haymond and several other important faculty and trustees. 

After the ceremony, those in attendance with tickets were invited into the building for a tour and sessions hosted by the faculty of the Business, Communication and Cybersecurity programs. 

Pioneer catered the event, providing various finger foods and desserts that the donors and trustees sampled as they walked around and visited with one another. The seats overlooking Cedar Lake filled quickly with appreciative visitors. 

“This is a beautiful building,” said Sherrie Woods, who contributed to the building and bought naming rights for an office space that she named after her late husband Duane Woods. 

Duane Woods joined Cedarville University in 1987 and served as Academic Vice President for 18 years. He was an adjunct professor in the School of Business until his death in 2019. Sherrie Woods attended the dedication with her two children to take a picture with her late husband’s name on the plaque. 

Outside the main conference room, a wall with the names of individuals and foundations who contributed to the building. The extensive list speaks to the Cedarville alumni and trustees’s care for the continual growth of the campus and current students. 

Avonlea Brown is a senior Broadcasting, Digital Media, and Journalism major and editor of Campus News for Cedars. She likes reading, traveling, and learning new things.

*photos by Avonlea Brown