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| Left to right: John Casteen, Carl Zeithaml,
John Griffin, and Jeffrey Walker break ground in front of
Rouss Hall. |
On April 15, 2005, the McIntire School of Commerce made history. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends joined McIntire Dean Carl
Zeithaml, University President John Casteen, and McIntire Foundation Board leaders John Griffin (McIntire ’85) and Jeffrey Walker (McIntire ’77) in a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the construction phase of McIntire’s ambitious “Back to the Lawn” building project. The event took place in front of Rouss Hall on the
U.Va. Lawn. (see
the video and read more media coverage; UVA
Top News Daily)
Welcoming the assembled crowd on a sparkling afternoon after McIntire’s Sixth Annual Spring Symposium, Zeithaml spoke of the vital importance of the “Back to the Lawn” project and that the continuing support and inspiration of the School’s alumni are keeping Mr. Jefferson’s vision for interdisciplinary programs alive.
“We have our loyal and successful alumni, corporate supporters, parents, faculty, students, and friends to thank for a tremendous outpouring of financial support,” he said. “I appreciate that you made our big dream your dream, and now we are making this dream a reality.”
Pressing Needs, Founder’s Ideals
“Monroe Hall was a wonderful home for many years,” Zeithaml continued, “but now our classrooms and technology facilities are overwhelmed. Faculty and staff share small workspaces, and our graduate and special programs are restricted by inadequate physical space. Our building is a competitive issue in recruiting both faculty and students. Furthermore, this new building is required if we are to meet our goals of collaborating much more closely with other schools within the University, particularly the College of Arts & Sciences. Two of the classrooms will be the primary home for this collaboration.
“Our move back to the Lawn will completely renovate the inside of Rouss Hall and build an additional 132,000-square-foot building, for a total of approximately 156,000 square feet. For this project, we partnered with architectural firm Hartman-Cox, who also designed our Monroe Hall addition and many other important projects at
U.Va. and elsewhere.
“We also worked closely with Nelson Byrd Woltz to design our impressive courtyard and terrace areas and with Olin Partnership for our external landscaping needs. I know you agree that the entire team designed an academic complex that perhaps even
Mr. Jefferson would find spectacular.
“Our new complex will coincide with many of our founder’s ideals. It will have the most technologically advanced classrooms and labs, welcoming and comfortable student workrooms and lounges, and spacious offices for faculty and staff. The new Commerce School will have 16 high-tech classrooms, more than 100 faculty and staff offices, four staff lounges and meeting spaces, 13 group study rooms for students, a dining facility, a suite for student clubs, multiple conference rooms, a presentation and writing center, and at least four technology centers.”
Honoring Ellen Whitener
Zeithaml announced that the office of the Senior Associate Dean would be named in honor of Ellen Whitener, who passed away in March 2005. “Without her enormous contribution in meeting the needs of our programs and faculty, I would not have been able to focus so much time and energy on this campaign. As a result, Ellen will always be a part of this magnificent achievement.”
The Very Best in Business Education
Casteen noted that the new building is central to McIntire’s goal of continuing to build the world’s best business programs.
“The McIntire School has established a firm reputation for world-class education, for leadership in business,” he said. “Its alumni have made their marks in the very best of ways. The world of business changes constantly. The McIntire School is committed to ensuring that business education programs keep up with new demands in the workplace. This new building has a lot to do with that and will ensure that McIntire continues to offer the very best in undergraduate and graduate business education.”
Much to Be Accomplished
Walker, McIntire School Foundation Board President, said the groundbreaking ceremony marked “a great day in which the team has come together to produce a great result.” He pointed out, however, that there is much to be accomplished.
“The University taught me a lot about honor,” he said. “The McIntire School taught me a lot about commitment. Students who graduate from McIntire will have the competitive advantage of not just understanding finance and accounting, but politics and government and psychology and ethics—and not just in the for-profit world but in the nonprofit world as well.”
He added that the new building will help ensure a holistic approach to education. “We want to make sure the building enables an integrated approach to education in an interdisciplinary way across the entire University. We think a holistic perspective is of vital importance as opposed to just getting the accounting or the finance right.”
Griffin, McIntire School Foundation Board Executive Vice President, emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary education. “I don’t see how anyone can understand business today without understanding history,” he said. “I don’t see how anyone can understand making investments without understanding psychology. Likewise, I don’t understand how anyone can run a nonprofit without having some business skills. This building goes a long way toward making the University as interdisciplinary as it can be. It marks a very exciting and historic step forward.”
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