With the help of a $2 million donation from three alumni, the Commerce School is in its preliminary stages to expand its Monroe Hall facilities.
The December donation from Shelby Bonnie, John Griffin and Jeffrey C. Walker served as the initial gift to launch new projects, enabling Commerce School officials to hire an architectural firm, said Diana Walker, associate dean for external affairs.
The firm, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture & Engineering, P.C., is currently in the programming phase of project development to determine the future classroom needs of students, faculty and staff.
Initial plans include building more classrooms, bigger rooms and enhancing technology throughout the school, including laptop computer connections and video conferencing in addition to networking and multimedia capabilities.
"The gift serves as an important commitment toward building a first-rate physical plant to recruit faculty and students and to enhance all of our programs and activities," Commerce Dean Carl Zeithaml said.
The donation also will allow the Commerce School to stay competitive with other business school programs in addition to providing funding to hire specialized guest speakers, Associate Dean for Administration Gerry Starsia said.
"The donors' visions and resources provided us with the ability to provide the most competitive programs," Starsia said.
"It's allowing us to compete with the best schools in the country," she said.
A 1999 feasibility study showed that careful space planning should meet the needs of Commerce students, faculty and staff without having to leave its current location on McCormick Road. The study not only proposed constructing a new building west of Monroe Hall, but also called for an expansion and renovation of the existing facility with special attention called to technology as part of expanding the school's distance learning program.
"This is a building to capture technology, and its construction will incorporate developments in telecommunications and computing technology," Ruppel said.
Program evaluation also will determine the total cost of the expansion, estimated at $40 million once construction begins in April 2003. The University will rely on major contribution fund-raising that goes beyond Capital Campaign dollar amounts, Walker said.
"Jeff Walker, John Griffin and Shelby Bonnie know that the building campaign that they initiated with their gift is about more than a new building", Zeithaml said. "It also represents an opportunity to raise a significant endowment that will support the school for many years"
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