News & Notes: Spring 2025

Connecting Carlson Project Kickoff

Before crews broke ground on the Connecting Carlson project, the Carlson School community honored decades of memories and celebrated the transformative path ahead for the building. 

Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and benefactors gave the atrium a final sendoff and left their marks on the project by signing a commemorative beam at the construction kickoff event in December. 

“Getting here is a path forged with the support of so many, which makes it extra gratifying,” Dean Jamie Prenkert said at the event. “After the dust settles and we see the physical connection enhanced, the power will be in all the connections to come.” 

Student speaker MaKenna Butzin, a second-year undergraduate, discussed the ways that “students will reap the benefits of this renovation” as the project will result in more shared and group working spaces, which will facilitate learning and “optimize our spaces [for students] to flourish together.” 

Connecting Carlson is being fully funded by philanthropy. Many project benefactors were present and recognized at the event, including Marilyn Carlson Nelson, who has made the lead gift to the project, and for whom the building will be named upon completion. To date, more than 87 percent of the total funding has been committed to the project, amounting to $35 million. The school is grateful to the many generous and forwardthinking benefactors who have helped in reaching this milestone.

Learn how to contribute to Connecting Carlson.

Madhubalan Viswanathan Family Subsistence Marketplaces & Marketplace Literacy Fund

Madhubalan Viswanathan, ’90 PhD, an award-winning researcher and professor, is giving back to the school that helped launch his career in academia.

For more than 30 years, Viswanathan has taught marketing and pioneered work on subsistence marketplaces. Viewing marketplace literacy as a “pathway to a better world,” he has taught not only in lecture halls, but also in remote communities around the world. 

With a deep appreciation for the foundational doctoral education he received, Viswanathan now extends his goal of using business education as a force for good back to the Carlson School. Along with his wife, Deepa Madhubalan, and son, Sid Madhubalan, he has recently established a fund enabling PhD students to pursue similar research with a focus on low-income communities in the U.S. or globally. Such work, the family says, will influence and enhance students’ professional goals while also benefiting communities worldwide. 

“I have been able to pursue my life’s work and see firsthand the meaningful impact it can have,” says Viswanathan. “I am extremely fortunate to be able to chart a journey at the intersection of my purpose, passion, and proficiency. I wish the same and more for the next generations.

To amplify the impact of the Madhubalan Viswanathan Family Subsistence Marketplaces & Marketplace Literacy Fund, or support PhD student fellowships and research, please visit, make a gift.