On Feb. 15, 2019 the Board of Trustees approved the construction of a new management and art building to contribute to the Freeman College of Management and Department of Art & Art History at the University. The anticipated cost of the construction is $49.6 million; the University has received a tremendous amount of support for seeking to deepen the connection to a liberal arts education through initiatives like this shared space.

The new building will house labs, art studios and an expansion of management curriculum that students will be encouraged to take. The building will also consist of resources for the Department of Art & Art History like studio spaces, photography labs, drawing studios, digital art labs and faculty offices.

As of now, the building is scheduled to open at the start of the next academic year in August 2021. Faculty are tentatively moving into their new offices around July of this year. The facilities group is making great progress on the interior, with virtually all drywall being installed, painting continuing as scheduled, and furniture arriving sometime in early March.

Associate Dean for the Freeman College of Management Mihai Banciu described that the arts area of the building will have dedicated spaces for drawing, digital art, photography and 3D printing, while the management side will supply redesigned space for MGMT 101 students, a dedicated finance lab with access to Bloomberg terminals and real-time market information running on a physical ticker tape, an enhanced MIDE design studio with ample space for ideation and critique and a new analytics lab with state-of-the-art technology. 

“The MIDE studio will be situated on the third floor, between two art spaces, which will give that entire floor a very creative vibe. We will also have a dedicated exhibition space on the first floor. The building will also have a 200-seat auditorium, which, like all the classrooms in the building will be open for programming at the university level,” Banciu said. 

Besides faculty, students of the Freeman College of Management are also very eager to take advantage of the new Management building and utilize all the resources it proposes to offer.

“As a sophomore, I will be able to get two full years and could not be more excited. Walking by the building this year, it is evident how much work the University is putting in for us students, which only adds to the excitement,” Paul Monaco ’23 said. “I can’t wait to get inside and hit the books!”