A team of 11 financial representatives from the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, along with the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, recently committed to donating $250,000 to sponsor a sales and research training laboratory for the Department of Marketing and Hospitality. The lab is one component of the comprehensive Professional Sales and Research Program the department plans to launch in the 2012-2013 academic year. The lab facility will be located on the main floor in Moody Hall.

The Professional Sales and Research Program will include the improvement of physical and technological instructional and research resources. According to Dr. Gwen Fontenot, head of the department, “The main goal of the program is to better prepare our students for successful careers. We believe we can accomplish this by providing technology-enhanced, flexible learning environments that facilitate continuous improvement and innovative teaching.”