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1992: Construction of the Holzweid Executive Campus

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  7. 1992 – Construction of the Holzweid Executive Campus
    1898 – Our beginnings1903 – Separation of the Business Academy from the School of Transport1911 – New name, new building at Notkerstrasse 201914 – World War I1928 – HSG’s first annual celebration1931 – Foundation of HSG Alumni1934 – Habilitation Ordinance1938 – New Higher Education Act and the right to confer doctorates1939 – The donation of the Presidential Chain1940 – The internment camp1943 – The first full-time sports teacher, Rolf Albonico1947 – Thomas Mann, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, visits HSG1949 – The award of the first honorary doctorates1950 – Start of the lecture cycle ‘Die neue Weltschau’ (The New World View)1956 – Aid for Hungary1959 Volksabstimmung zum Neubau auf dem Rosenberg1960 erster Spatenstich zu den Neubauten1960 Grundsteinlegung zu den Neubauten1963 – Inauguration of the new buildings on the Rosenberg – now with the abbreviation 'HSG'1968 – The institutionalisation of continuing education1970 – First HSG Symposium1978 – Introduction of the stand-alone Law programme1985 – Vote for extension building1989 – Inauguration of the HSG library1992 – Construction of the Holzweid Executive Campus1995 – HSG joins CEMS1995 – Inauguration of the new Executive Campus (WBZ) on the Holzweid site1995 – HSG is renamed as a university2000 Neukonzeption der Lehre2000 "Peterli" wird Bildmarke der HSGHSG-Logo im Wandel der Zeit2003 – Introduction of "Children's University"2004 Bezug des Zentralen Institutsgebäudes (ZIG)2005 Einführung institutsübergreifende Kompetenzzentren2005 – Inauguration of the Executive School for Management, Technology and Law (ES-HSG)2007 Fertigstellung der Sporthalle2008 – Moving into the HSG Alumni House2013 Bezug des Hauses Tellstrasse 22017 Einweihung des neuen Lehr- und Forschungsgebäudes Müller-Friedberg-Strasse 6/82018 – The Joint Medical Master2019 – The IT Education Initiative (ITBO)2022 – SQUARE

The foundation stone for what we know today as the Executive Campus HSG was laid as early as 1974, when – on the occasion of the 75th anniversary celebration – Max Schmidheiny, who had received an honorary doctorat from HSG, incorporated the Holzweid property into the HSG foundation, with the primary goal of enabling the creation of a centre for further education. 

However, it took some twenty years before this goal was finally achieved. On the one hand, there were financial obstacles, which were overcome with the help of the Society for the Promotion of Continuing Education at the HSG whose members were the federal government, the canton and the city, as well as many private individuals. On the other hand, there was also massive political resistance, which the university succeeded in overcoming mainly thanks to the efforts of its president Professor Johannes Anderegg.

The construction work began in June 1992, after the planning permission had been granted in 1991 under the presidency of Rolf Dubs and went according to plan, taking three years to complete. In May 1995, the new Executive Campus (WBZ-HSG), designed by architect Bruno Gerosa, was officially inaugurated. One of its main features is a beatiful foyer named after Max Schmidheiny, to commemorade his contribution to the creation of the campus. The following words spoken by President Georges Fischer at the inauguration express his hopes for the new centre: 'I hope that, as a meeting place for all those who teach and will continue to teach here, it will become a symbol of dialogue, a value that was of such central importance to Max Schmidheiny.'

In 2004, the St. Gallen cantonal parliament approved the project to expand the Holzweid Executive Campus. The first phase of the building project began in spring 2006, followed by the beginning of the second phase, the construction of the new Campus building financed by the HSG alumni organisation, in the autumn of that year. In 2005, the former HSG president Peter Gomez had launched the Executive School of Management, Technology ans Law (ES-HSG); once the expansion of the Executive Campus was complete, it would become the headquarters of the Executive School.

In October 2007, the new Executive Campus started its operations, now incorporating new teaching rooms. In this first part of the expansion project, the capacity of the Executive Campus had been increased by 60%, thanks to flexibly adjustable lecture theaters and the implementation of  state-of-the-art technology. Furthermore, a new bistro restaurant expanding the caterin capacity and a parking garage offering a further 100 parking spaces had been added as well.

In 2008, the new Campus building was completed, thus bringing the second phase of the expansin project to an end. To Willi Haag, head of the Building Department of the canton of St. Gallen, the Executive Campus expansion was an outstanding example of close cooperation between the state and the private sectors.

In May 2008, the Executive Campus HSG was inaugurated; the former Holzweid Executive Campus had thus been expanded by an additional teaching wing and by the HSG Alumni House. In this way HSG became the first German-speaking to have at its disposition an integral campus devoted specifically to further education.
 

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