CIU business school to be named for owners of pest control company

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Columbia International University’s business school will be named for the owners of America’s eighth-largest pest control company.  

The John and Lyn Cook School of Business will be dedicated during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday at the William H. Jones Center on the university’s campus at 7435 Monticello Road.  

Cook’s Pest Control has 40 locations in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida, according to its website. The company has served homeowners and businesses across the Southeast for more than 90 years and has earned the International Torch Award for Ethics from the Better Business Bureau.  

Lyn Cook has served on the CIU board of trustees for 12 years, while John Cook is a 1972 graduate of Ben Lippen School, CIU’s pre-K-to-12th grade Christian school. 

A donation of an unspecified amount will be used to expand the business school’s programming, offer scholarships and host business leaders for workshops and seminars, according to a news release from CIU. 

“We are privileged and grateful that the Cook family has recognized those qualities and invested in the CIU School of Business and its students,” Scott Adams, dean of the CIU School of Business, said in the release. “This partnership will provide additional program resources, and the Cook family's international reputation for excellence will further enhance the placement of CIU's students in businesses and ministries worldwide.” 

CIU’s School of Business is the fastest-growing school on campus with more than 600 students in undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Some of its newest degree offerings include a master’s degree in Health Administration and a master's in Public Administration.