WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 11 for the new Mitch Daniels School of Business facility. When completed in fall 2027, the 164,000-square-foot building will help prepare future leaders and entrepreneurs by offering a modern new home for programs dedicated to STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as well as business analytics.
“As we educate future leaders and advance the research of a technology-driven, free-market economy, new world-class facilities for the Daniels School of Business will help us achieve excellence at scale,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said at the groundbreaking ceremony.
When complete, the Mitch Daniels School of Business will be the second-largest classroom building on the university’s West Lafayette campus. In addition to flexible spaces for academic instruction and conferences, it will also feature modern teaching and research labs for financial trading, data visualization, behavioral research and experiential learning.
Purdue officials began working with the Chicago office of global architecture firm Gensler in December 2022 to envision the facility, developing a design that would honor the business school’s past while offering the flexibility to evolve with future educational needs and trends. The building’s interconnected nature brings together a variety of learning environments and experiences that “instigate change and define the future of research and business through the convergence of critical thinking, experiential learning and a culture driven by collaboration” according to a statement by the Gensler team.
The Gensler design team was further challenged to seamlessly integrate business, technology and engineering learning spaces with advising offices and flexible areas for collaboration, conferences and events. Working closely with partner firm BSA Life Structures, the various programmatic elements will be joined cohesively in a single structure that anchors the south end of campus and serves as “a bold symbol of the Daniels School of Business’ forward-looking vision.”
The reimagined Mitch Daniels School of Business, which will also include sophisticated interiors inspired by modern corporate workplaces, was driven by Purdue’s aspirations to rank among the top tier of business schools in the nation. It also speaks to the school’s foundational pillars, which prioritize the integration of technology, transformative learning opportunities and an increase in enrollment.
“Practiced with integrity, business careers are the noblest of life choices,” said Mitch Daniels, the 12th president of Purdue University and the building’s namesake, in a statement. “They create new jobs and wealth for others and bring into being the resources which the public and nonprofit sectors take to pursue their goals. This modernized school of business will send out its graduates armed with a sense of mission and the tools to fulfill that mission in the most complex of enterprises.”
“Not only will this building illustrate the university’s commitment to the future of business education, it will also serve as a focal point for the seamless integration of business and technology, reflecting our mission to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow,” added Jim Bullard, the Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business, in a statement. “It will foster an environment where students, faculty, staff, alumni and corporate partners can thrive, innovate and lead while showcasing what building the future of business is all about.”