Samford University Begins Business School Construction

February 13, 2014 1634 Views East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Eastern U.S., Florida Gators, Greystone West, Labor, San Mateo

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Construction on the new 73,270-square-foot Brock School of Business building at Samford University began in mid-January, with completion scheduled for fall 2015.

Davis Architects designed the building, while Hoar Construction is serving as the general contractor. Both companies are locally based.

The new building will be situated on the northeast corner of campus near the law school and a men’s residence hall. It will feature an Investment Portfolio Room, two computer teaching labs, 11 classrooms, interactive breakout rooms, a student business incubator and a meeting room available for up to 400 guests, allowing the university to now host on-campus events.

The new business school joins several others — the University of Florida, the University of Missouri – Kansas City and University at Albany – SUNY, to name a few — that are debuting across the nation.

“To stay competitive with other universities in drawing top talent from around the nation, Samford must continue striving for excellence in its offerings,” said Scott McKaig, a senior business major from Fort Wayne, Ind., in a statement. “A major part of this effort is the provision of state-of-the-art technology and facilities for students to engage the ever-changing world of trade."

Construction has already caused traffic and parking issues on campus, so a temporary parking lot has been added adjacent to Beeson University Center to help ease the situation. A temporary shuttle around the campus is also in place to assist students and employees to get to and from remote parking to the central campus.

The current business school is housed in Dwight Beeson Hall, which was built in 1970. When the school moves into its new space, the hall will be reassigned to other university departments. The school currently has 477 undergraduate students and 139 students enrolled in graduate programs.

Samford alumnus and Birmingham business executive Gary Cooney announced in April that he would pledge at least $12.5 million to the estimated $30 million building, which has yet to be named.