Thanks to its $27 million building initiative, Woodbury University is quietly making a transition. Situated on 23 acres, partly in Burbank, partly in Los Angeles County, the 123-year-old school is in the process of constructing new quarters for both its School of Business and School of Architecture. Once complete, the news business center will feature a stock-price reporting system, akin to those found in brokerage offices. The space will be almost double the size of the present School of Business, able to accommodate approximately 750 students. As for the School of Architecture, that new building will have about one-third more capacity than the current building. Both schools are scheduled for completion in March 2008, “under budget and ahead of schedule,” according to Woodbury President Kenneth Nielsen. It’s the first time in his 39-year academic career that Nielsen has witnessed such an occurrence, he said. After 11 years at the university, Nielsen, who has signed on for five more, said that the school is making way for tomorrow, a tomorrow that will likely include an additional 250 students to its student body. “You really can’t anticipate what’s happening, but you can teach people to think,” Nielsen said. To ensure that students receive the gold standard in education, Woodbury is in the process of receiving accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, Nielsen said. The Business Journal spoke to Nielsen about these changes and what else is in store for the school’s future, as well as what distinguishes the school academically. <!– Hands On: President Kenneth Nielsen knows the name of every student in every graduating class. –> Hands On: President Kenneth Nielsen knows the name of every student in every graduating class. Question: When you came to Woodbury 11 years ago, what lay before you? What plans did you have for the institution? Answer: It had a long history, and big reputation, but I didn’t think it had reached its potential. I expanded the student body by 60 percent. I expanded the endowment by 800 percent. The reputation of the institution had not been understood by the public. The quality of our student body has increased. Q: How did you increase the school’s public profile? Did you launch a marketing campaign? A: We did a marketing campaign. We saw that as a primary focus. We advertise in newspapers and have an annual college fair that 110 colleges compete in. It brings more people to our campus. Lily Tomlin was here to receive our Julius Shulman award. It brings attention to Woodbury. I’m out in the community. I work on boards. Community service is important. Q: What’s next on the horizon for Woodbury? A: We have plans to finish these two buildings, to expand our enrollment by 20 percent in the next few years. We plan to achieve a very special accreditation , AACSB. Stanford, USC and Harvard have it. It’s the gold standard. Q: Will your new business and architecture buildings be more energy efficient? A: We emphasize sustainability. We reduced our light bill from $150,000 to $75,000 just by switching to energy efficient lights. We’ve added drought resistant plants. We have a new 350-car parking lot. We thought, “How can we design this high asphalt area, so that it drains properly?” We have to guard our resources for future generations. Q: The marketplace has changed significantly for students during your 11 years as Woodbury’s president. What challenges do businesses face now? A: Students will have 50-year work careers. What we’ve tried to do is design our program for the working professional. We’ve been very successful with people who have left the workforce to raise a family, stay-at-home-moms. Some schools will say, ‘You have to come back full time,’ but we cater to working professionals. That’s always been the way of Woodbury, and it’s been very effective. Q: Woodbury is known for its business school. Are there other courses of study in which Woodbury has found a niche? A: Our architecture school. Also, interior architecture, graphics, animation. We also offer trans-disciplinary programs, but our two key areas are business management, architecture and design. Our classes average 15 students. We’ll help expand your potential (because of that), which is much different from a larger school where you sink or swim. Our students get jobs. They’re very successful. Q: I’ve heard that many Woodbury students are the first in their families to go to college. Is this true? A: Today 75 percent of students are the first in their families to go to college. It’s wonderful to teach these students. They’re very eager. They’re willing to work themselves up. Other students expect to have the corner office. These students are willing to work their way up to the corner office. They’re extremely nice to work with. We have a very diverse student body as well , 33 percent Hispanic, 20 percent Asian and seven percent black. We also have many international students from Thailand and China and Japan. Q: A number of your students also come from families who own businesses. Do these students have advantages over their counterparts who did not grow up in a family business environment? A: I think they do have an advantage. Woodbury teaches practical application as well as theory. (The former group of) students will say, ‘It says this in the book, but this is how it works in real life.’ Q: Are students involved in any projects now that you’re especially excited about? A: Right now, they’re working on a project with a major luxury car manufacturer. Q: How did this project come about? A: The dean of our School of Business has done consulting with the luxury car industry. He saw it as an opportunity for our students to learn using a major firm. Our faculty members bring what’s really happening in our community into the classroom. Q: What else sets you apart from your competitors? A: We’re very nimble on our feet. State schools have much more trouble because they have to go to the Legislature to change their curriculum. We’re very much like a business in that we can change what we want when we want to. Q: You’ve signed on for five more years at Woodbury. Then, you’ll retire. What would you like your legacy to be? A: I had a series of hopes and dreams when I came in. I’ve had enough time to accomplish many of them. When I came here, there weren’t any benches or tables. There weren’t little areas for people to sit and talk. Now you can work outside. I walk outside every day. I stop and talk to people. Details are every important in life. I’m very conscious of human details. By the time a class graduates, I’ll know the name of every student. We provide opportunities for students to do public presentations of work , any student in any discipline. If you go into our cafeteria, you’ll see people of all groups. On other campuses, you see all the black students sitting together or all the Asian students sitting together. We’re really role models for people to observe. SNAPSHOT: Kenneth Nielsen Title: President, Woodbury University Age: 66 Education: University of Wisconsin Whitewater, WI B.Ed., major in Social Studies and Psychology; University of Wisconsin Menomonie, WI M.S., major in Guidance and Counseling; University of Wyoming Laramie, WY Ed.D., Major in Career Psychology/Guidance; Harvard University Cambridge, MA Post doctoral program at the Graduate School of Business Administration, The Institute of Educational Management. Most Admired People: My father, Dalai Lama, John F. Kennedy Career Turning Point: When I served as vice president at Seattle University under the leadership of Fr. William Sullivan. Personal: Married with five children