Beginning in 1911, the Board authorized a Business Education Degree at the then-named Michigan State Normal School. By 1929, EMU offered a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. The College of Business (COB) moved to the newly erected Gary M. Owen Building in downtown Ypsilanti in 1991. Year of construction was 1988. The architect was Dow, Howell, and Gillmore Associates in Midland, Michigan. The builder was Kajima International / Palermo Construction (Joint Venture Partners). The style of the building is Michigan Modern and it was dedicated on March 22, 1991. It had a square footage of 122,000 and was built at a cost of $1.75 million. In 2020, the COB moved back to main campus and the Owen building was subsequently sold.

The COB building was named for Gary M. Owen of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Owen was born in Lawrence County, Alabama on September 9, 1944. He served as a democratic member of Michigan State House of Representatives 22nd District from 1973-1988, acting as Speaker from 1983-88. Owen was a member of the Jaycees and Phi Delta Kappa.

Today, the COB serves approximately 3,400 graduate and undergraduate students. The COB offers thirty-three majors and minors, eleven graduate degrees, three undergraduate certifcates, and thirteen graduate certificate programs.