Building on a Solid Foundation

r. Bill Petty (’64) used to tell his students that anything of significance is never built alone.

And that’s still true for him, whether he’s talking about ACU’s College of Business Administration, of which he served as the first dean, or the Mabee Business Building, the college’s grand home that was funded, designed and built during his tenure.

He’s quick to credit successes to people such as Jozell Brister (’61), associate professor emerita of management sciences and former associate dean of COBA, and other dedicated faculty members.

He points to the instrumental work of alumni such as J. McDonald “Don” Williams (’63), former president and CEO of Trammell Crow Co., in bringing

BY JONATHAN SMITH

the business building to campus. Williams was also an influential ACU trustee from 1981-2004.

But at the center of it all was Petty, who joined ACU’s faculty in 1979 and was dean from 1981-89, providing a vision for the new college. In honor of his leadership and service to the university, COBA is naming the newly renovated atrium of the Mabee Business Building after Petty and his wife, Donna (Guinn ’64)

“I have the greatest admiration and highest respect for Bill Petty – as a person, for what he’s accomplished in his career and what he has done for ACU,” said Dr. Brad Crisp (’93), dean of COBA. “He is the visionary who founded the College of Business Administration. Now, he would be quick to give credit to the people who came before him. But Bill cast a vision for what the college could be, and he rallied support for that vision.”

This summer’s atrium renovation marks the last major phase of a fourphase overhaul of the Mabee Business Building that began in 2020. The Bill and Donna Petty Atrium will feature upgraded technology and appearance to better welcome students, faculty, staff, alumni and business leaders into the building and facilitate networking between these groups.

The project was made possible, thanks to a generous lead gift from an anonymous donor, along with substantial commitments from family and friends. It also received significant support during the ACU Gives event this April 25-26, when dozens of donors – many of whom the Pettys mentored – contributed an additional $100,000 toward the $1.4 million renovation.

“It was such a tremendous blessing to know this was being made possible by former students,” Petty said.

Crisp said it’s fitting for the Pettys to be honored at the heart of the building that Bill helped bring to campus.

Petty arrived at ACU from Texas Tech in 1979 and became dean of the newly formed College of Business Administration in 1981. The new college initially held its classes in the Hardin Administration Building, but with several programs sharing that building, space was at a premium.

“We didn’t have room to grow, and it was limiting the number of students we could support,” Petty said.

Plans and fundraising began soon after for a building to house COBA. Coming off the heels of an economic recession in the early ’80s, this might not have been an easy sell, but Petty points to the generosity of several alumni and friends of the university – led by a cornerstone gift from the building’s namesake, the Mabee Foundation – for making the project possible.

Petty remembers his excitement when they broke ground on the new building in Fall 1984. He was even more energized when he saw the finished product when it opened in 1986.

The Mabee Business Building and the neighboring Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building (which opened in 1989) formed a magnificent new face of the campus along Judge Ely Boulevard and set a new standard for how buildings on campus could look. Petty believes the grand design helped convey the important work occurring inside.

“It sent a message that this was a significant business program,” he said, “and I think it still does today.”

Petty left Abilene and taught at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business from 1990-2018, but ACU never left his heart – he served as a university trustee from 2006-21.

Although he loves the building constructed during his tenure on campus, he’s impressed by what he’s seen of the recent renovations.

The whole project began out of the need to replace the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in 2020, but it grew to involve most major spaces inside the building – including classrooms, labs, offices and, now, the atrium, which reopened this semester after a summer of construction. A dedication ceremony is planned for later this fall to honor the Pettys and those who made this project possible.

“We’re so blessed by the generosity of our donors throughout every phase of this project,” Crisp said. “I’m constantly amazed by their level of commitment and their desire to bless future students as well as honor those who built the foundations from which we grow today.”

After all, anything of significance is never built alone. 