Raj Soin College of Business breaks ground for student-operated cafe

Wright State’s Raj Soin College of Business broke ground on a coffee shop designed to give students the experience of running a business.

Officials broke ground for a coffee cafe at Wright State’s Raj Soin College of Business designed to give students the experience of running a business.

“One of the things we take great pride in at Wright State is making sure we do everything possible to give our students real-world learning experience,” President David R. Hopkins said at the Oct. 22 groundbreaking ceremony.

Rike Hall, the College of Business building, will be extended to create the 1,100-square-foot cafe, which will feature a variety of Boston Stoker coffees as well as salads, sandwiches and baked goods. It is projected to open in the early summer.

Ron Lamb, president of Reynolds and Reynolds, said the company is proud to be the major corporate sponsor supporting the project. He noted that more than 200 Wright State alumni currently work for Reynolds and Reynolds.

“We recognize that a university like Wright State is critical to the community, to its growth, its strength,” Lamb said.

Business students will be involved in all aspects of day-to-day operations, from hiring, training and managing fellow students to ordering supplies and marketing the cafe.

“There is no better business education than giving an opportunity to students to actually practice it,” said Joanne Li, dean of the business college. “And it emphasizes the fact that this is a workforce-ready student body. Today we break ground, tomorrow we change minds.”