While it may seem like the U’s major construction projects are wrapping up, the School of Business just got the go ahead to start working on a potential new building.
The structure, the location of which is currently to be determined, will provide more classrooms for their Master of Business Administration (MBA) and executive education programs, said Pete Codella, director of marketing and communications for the School of Business.
“We recognize that working executives are busy and we want to provide them the best environment to study and learn and catch up on new practices, all the amenities, easy access and the latest technology so that we can accommodate more people and continue giving world class training and professional development,” Codella said.
Taylor Randall, dean of the School of Business, said while they still have to assess the amount of space they need and propose the project to the Utah Legislature in the spring, they hope to begin construction in the next year or two.
“It will allow us to move some of the programs and allow us to expand our undergraduate footprint and serve all of our students,” he said.
Randall said the school has seen a steady increase in students for the past seven years, and they need the extra space to accommodate the rising population.
Bloomberg Businessweek ranked both the executive and professional MBA programs at the U’s School of Business as the top in the state. Additionally, the executive MBA is ranked in the top 25 nationally and the top 33 internationally.
Andrew Finlayson, a senior in accounting, said he was surprised to hear about a new building because he didn’t think the college needed more room, but supports it. He thinks there may be some resentment among students in colleges housed in some of the older buildings on campus, but that there are plenty of other schools growing as well.
“The amount of growth the business school has had in two years is amazing,” Finlayson said. “It does seem like there is a lot of new development in the business school but the colleges of science also have many buildings for their one college. It feels like every college is growing.”
The project, which will cost around $35 to $40 million, will be primarily funded through private donations, Codella said.
Since 2012, the U has either added, or is in the process of adding, 14 new buildings to campus, according to the Facilities Management website. The past five years have seen the highest amount of campus construction since 2000 and the highest number of structures directly impacting education since the early 1970s.
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