Business school hopes to break ground on $15 million expansion this year
The Board of Trustees has approved a plan to expand the School of Business and Management. Construction on the $15 million project is expected to begin this year.
The first step will be to extend the school’s current space from three floors to incorporate all five floors of the McLaren Center. This space will accommodate additional faculty offices, expand administrative services to undergraduate and graduate students, and greatly increase student and faculty conference space.
The second step in the project will be to expand the current building in an east to west direction along Fulton Street. The new wing will house special purpose classrooms for the Executive MBA, Professional MBA, and other technology-assisted classes for undergraduate and graduate students. The facility will also house the Center for Latin American Business, the New Venture Center, and the Family Business Resource Center. Student and faculty social spaces will also be incorporated into the new building.
To date, approximately $7 million has been raised from federal grants and school supporters to pay for the expansion. The school will now extend its capital campaign for the remaining $8 million to friends, alumni, and industry.
Prior to asking for the board’s approval of the expansion project, the university also considered relocating to an alternate campus site, or constructing a new facility on Lone Mountain. Dean Gary Williams said he is pleased with the decision to expand the school’s current home.
"I think that the business school, because of its large undergraduate population, belongs on lower campus," he said. "If we can develop a concept for the building here, it is more efficient than to build a new facility. Most of all, we like it here."
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