After 71 years in Glendale, the Thunderbird School of Global Management will be relocated to the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus by the 2021 academic year.
ASU announced the move in a press release today followed by a press conference with ASU President Michael Crow and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton at the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus.
The move will include the Thunderbird graduate program and the executive education program, however the Thunderbird undergraduate school, the Thunderbird Academy, will remain located on the ASU West campus in Glendale.
Starting in 2019, the Thunderbird school will temporarily be housed in a leased building in Downtown Phoenix until the school's permanent facility is completed. It will be the sixth college headquartered on the Downtown campus.
“This is an incredible opportunity for Thunderbird to broaden its mission and have an even greater impact on students and the businesses and organizations with which the school partners,” said Allen Morrison, CEO and director general of Thunderbird, in a press release.
The new building will be located between First and Second Street north of Polk Street, just south of the Beus Center. The city of Phoenix currently owns the land as part of an agreement with ASU to expand the Downtown campus, and it will eventually be property of ASU, Crow said during the press conference.
Costs are estimated to be around $50 million.
The new building will be paid for by a combination of revenue from the development in Glendale at the previous Thunderbird location, by the university, by philanthropy and through various partnerships.
“This is an exciting and important moment for the entire region,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said in the press release. “Thunderbird’s presence downtown will continue to enhance our competitiveness as we build an economy that competes on a global scale.”
Not-for-profit organization ASU Enterprise Partners will transform the current 140-acre Thunderbird campus to include residential and commercial buildings, an ASU Preparatory Academy and a YMCA, according to Crow.
Stanton said Thunderbird's relocation is meant to strengthen the local economy, create new opportunities for education in Phoenix and integrate Thunderbird into the ASU and Phoenix community.
“What an exciting day for our city, for ASU, and for our entire region,” Stanton said. “The reason is pretty simple, it makes the phoenix economy stronger.”
Reach the reporter at abpotter@asu.edu and follow @abpotter4 on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
