Our alma mater of Northwood University in Midland Michigan has cut the ribbon on their newest learning facility on their campus. The Sloan Family Building for Automotive Aftermarket Studies. While attending NU from 2000-2004 there was a giant spike in growth in the Automotive Aftmarket program that Northwood offers. The new facility was completed in record time to finish out the 2007-2008 school year. The Sloan building marks the second Automotive specific building at Northwood. The first was the NADA(National Automobile Dealers Association) Education Center.
Northwod University was also home of the Automotive Hall of Fame prior to construction of their new building in Dearborn Michigan. The building now houses the DeVos Graduate School.
Northwood University is the only University in the United States that offers majors in both Automotive Marketing/Management and Automotive Aftermarket Management.
Source: Northwood University.
Press Release:
MIDLAND, Mich. - Northwood University held a dedication and unveiling ceremony of its new Sloan Family Building for Aftermarket Studies on May 8, 2008 at 3:00 pm in Midland, Mich. The 25,500 square-foot state-of-the-art education center has been under construction since March 2007.
"The Sloan Family Building for Aftermarket Studies has been named in honor of industry icon O. Temple Sloan, Jr., the founder of General Parts International, Inc. (GPI) and CARQUEST, his brother, C. Hamilton Sloan, an early partner in GPI, and their family members," said Northwood University President Keith Pretty. "The Sloan family and the employees of GPI and CARQUEST are responsible for just more than half of the $6 million needed to build this innovative facility which will house the Sloan Aftermarket Management Program, the University of the Aftermarket, and key university faculty."
Located near the NADA Education Center, the two-story Sloan Family Building for Aftermarket Studies consists of a 3,600 square-foot atrium that serves as a focal point of the facility and was designed for large group gatherings. Four tiered classrooms with seating capacities of 60 students per classroom on both the lower and upper levels have also been created, as have three traditional classrooms that accommodate 40 students, each on both the lower and upper levels.
Located on the lower level is an alumni lounge that features a fireplace and a comfortable setting for small meetings and entertaining, as well as a conference room with seating for ten, six faculty offices, and a faculty reception area. A two-story graduate-school-style auditorium with seating for 150 and the latest technology is located on the lower level, with access from both levels.A more traditional student lounge is located on the second level.
Additionally, an executive boardroom complete with multi-media and seating for 20 will be located on the upper level, with a panoramic view of the surrounding campus area. Two executive offices and reception area complete the upper level.The striking design of the new building conveys the strength of the industry on the outside with unique dynamics in the interior. The building supports the growing automotive aftermarket program through an interactive education center, which can be linked to other interactive classrooms on Northwood’s Texas and Florida campuses.
Dr. Timothy G. Nash, vice president for graduate and specialty programs and dean, DeVos Graduate School of Management, noted, "These ‘smart classrooms’ will allow resident faculty, special instructors, and world-renowned guest speakers to teach students in the classrooms. In addition to housing the O. Temple Sloan, Jr. Aftermarket Management Program and the University of the Aftermarket, the facility will serve other allied academic and executive development activities on the Michigan campus. The Sloan Program in Automotive Aftermarket Management Studies will now have the exposure it deserves while attracting the best and brightest to the program and the industry."
In March 2006, Northwood University announced the naming of Northwood’s automotive aftermarket program in honor of O. Temple Sloan, Jr. This unique four-year undergraduate dual major enables students to enroll in core industry courses in aftermarket manufacturing, heavy-duty marketing, aftermarket retail/wholesale management, supply chain management, lean distribution, logistics, and current issues affecting the industry, as well as general education and strategic management courses. Students will also complete industry internships and create an operational business plan.
O. Temple Sloan III, president of GPI, stated, "The Sloan family and the Northwood family hold many core values in common. Our mutual belief in and respect for free enterprise and education is accented by a shared commitment to ethical management and people."
Dr. Nash went on to say, "Northwood University has established a rich reputation of educating future entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs for careers in organizational leadership. The close relationship with the Sloan family and General Parts International, Inc. adds an invaluable resource that will greatly benefit Northwood students for years to come."
Contributors to the building fund to date include: Activant Solutions; Affinia Group; Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance; Aisin World Corporation; AMS Automotive; Mary Anderson & Family; ArvinMeritor, Inc.; Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association; AutoZone; Babcox Publications; Jesse and Tina Berger; Berman Scholarship Foundation; BWP Distributors, Inc.; David and Mary Carraci; CARDONE; CARQUEST Teammates; Delphi Automotive Systems; David and Robin Dilley; East-Penn Manufacturing Company; Federal-Mogul Corporation; Greg and Kathryn Foote; Randall and Michelle Foote; Ronald Friedman; Dr. David & Claudia Fry; Gene and Diane Gardner; The Gates Rubber Company; General Parts International, Inc.; The Greensheet; Grote Industries, Inc.; George Hopper; Kevin & Diane Judge; Dale and Marilyn Larson; Scott Marquiss; N.A. Williams; Kevin and Diane McCormick; BD & JE McIntyre Foundation; C.S. and Marion McIntyre Foundation; Meineke Car Care Centers; Dr. Richard & Linda Morgan; Morse Automotive Group; Muffler Warehouse, Inc.; Dr. Timothy and Pamela Nash; Glenn Orr; Paul & Peggy Rowley and Family; RPM Group; SBA-TLC, Inc.; Dr. Mort and Mickie Schwartz; Dr. O. Temple, Jr. & Carol Sloan; C. Hamilton & Ann Sloan; Standard Motor Products; Dr. William & Linda Stavropoulos; United Components, Inc.; University of the Aftermarket Foundation; The Valvoline Company; John & Carol Washbish; and Gordon Whiting.
Northwood University’s Michigan campus is located at 4000 Whiting Drive in Midland. For additional information regarding the Sloan Family Building for Aftermarket Studies dedication ceremony and related activities, or to attend, please call 989.837.4758 and ask for Linda Mathieu.
ABOUT NORTHWOOD UNIVERSITY’S O. TEMPLE SLOAN, JR. AFTERMARKET MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
The automotive aftermarket parts industry continues to need managerial personnel due to the high demand for automotive parts. The role of Northwood University is to develop the management skills of those individuals who want to take advantage of the opportunities available in the automotive aftermarket industry. It is important to note that Northwood University is the only university that offers a bachelor’s degree in aftermarket management.
ABOUT NORTHWOOD UNIVERSITY
Northwood University is a private, nonprofit, accredited university specializing in managerial and entrepreneurial education offering four-year degrees in a variety of enterprise fields. The Richard DeVos Graduate School of Management’s Full-time, Evening, and Switzerland MBA programs make Northwood’s free market-based degree offerings in management and enterprise the most complete anywhere. The university emphasizes the importance of free enterprise and is dedicated to the preservation of the free market and the important relationship between business and the arts.Northwood operates a residential campus in Michigan, Florida and Texas; the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, Maine; University College outreach centers and locations in eight states in the U.S. including a Distance Education online program; and several international study programs abroad.
ABOUT GENERAL PARTS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
General Parts International, Inc., founded in 1961 and headquartered in Raleigh, NC, is a distributor of replacement automotive parts for foreign and domestic car, truck, farm, and industrial vehicles.The largest member of the CARQUEST network, General Parts International, Inc. operates 40 distribution centers supplying 3,300 CARQUEST Auto Parts Stores of which over 1,525 are joint venture stores (with the store and sales management) and over 1,675 independently owned stores in the U.S. and Eastern Canada. CARQUEST’s primary customers are the professional service dealer, collision shops, fleets, and farms which represent 85 percent of the organization’s sales.
The company also operates WORLDPAC Corporation with 54 branches and two distribution centers in the U.S. and Canada, distributing import parts to specialty import repair shops.General Parts International, Inc. and WORLDPAC are both wholly owned subsidiaries of General Parts International Inc., an employee-owned company, with approximately over 16,700 employees in the U.S. and Canada.
