SMU Breaks Ground on Business School Expansion

Officials from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, gathered on Friday, May 6, to celebrate a groundbreaking ceremony for a $140-million expansion and renovation of its business school. The project is set to expand the footprint of the Cox School of Business by more than 30 percent, according to local news, and will connect four new buildings with the school’s existing facilities.

The project is scheduled to include the renovation of about 157,000 square feet from three existing campus structures: the Joseph M. Wylie Fincher Building, the Trammell Crow Building and the Cary M. Maguire Building. The buildings will undergo structural demolition, and all roofing systems will be removed. The buildings’ exterior stone and brick façades will remain in place wherever possible, according to the university website.

The project will also entail about 63,000 square feet of expansion to existing buildings and underground connecting spaces. One side of the Fincher building will extend to connect with the Crow and Maguire buildings, while separate additions will be added to the Crow and Maguire buildings, also.

Construction is scheduled to take about two years. The renovated and expanded facilities will be called the David B. Miller Business Quadrangle.

“We are retooling the Cox School to create a more collaborative environment—to give students and faculty easier access to collaborate, to gather and share ideas and gain inspiration from one another,” said Matthew B. Myers, Dean of the Cox School of Business. “We will offer students more opportunity to obtain their business education in a ‘9 to 9’ environment, meaning they’ll come to classes, stay for lunch or dinner, work together with other students and their professors, and remain connected with and at Cox all day long. In short, our improved facilities will nurture an environment that will lead to a richer learning experience and a lifetime of connections. This really marks a new era for the Cox School.”

The university is partnering with Rogers-O’Brien Construction for construction and GFF Architects for architecture and design.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • UT System Board of Regents Approves $108M Housing Complex

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently announced the approval of a new, $108-million housing complex at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), according to a news release. The facility will stand four stories and have a total of 456 new beds for freshmen students.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.

Digital Edition