Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

UNC-Chapel Hill Breaks Ground on New Business School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 10/06/22

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, located in Chapel Hill, N.C., recently broke ground on a new $150-million business school. The future Steven D. Bell Hall will play home to the Kenan-Flagler Business School to modernize its facilities and allow the school to accommodate about 50% more undergraduate students, according to university news.

Student media reports that about $75 million in funds are coming from the North Carolina General Assembly and the other $75 million from private funding. The building’s namesake, Steven D. Bell, and his wife, Jackie Bell, have pledged $25 million toward the building’s construction.

“In life, few people have the opportunity to influence thousands of young people,” said Bell. “I am honored and humbled to be able to help double the size of the Undergraduate Business Program. These young entrepreneurs will make North Carolina a strong and more productive place for all of us to live and work.”

The new facility will feature adaptable classrooms that allow for a variety of layouts based on teaching styles and the needs of a particular class. Installed technology will allow for both hybrid and online classes. The building will feature a four-story interior atrium and a tiered, 50-seat outdoor teaching space, according to university news.

Sustainability efforts will include use of solar panels, open-air terraces and large windows. The building is set to meet LEED Gold standards and will target meeting LEED Platinum standards, as well.

“The new, state-of-the-art building will advance our critical mission and expand our impact,” said Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz at the groundbreaking ceremony. “This building will enable us to teach and train more students and leaders for the future. This space will strengthen our culture of collaboration and help build our community together.”

University news reports that construction is scheduled to take a little more than two years.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Esports are Growing in Popularity

    Video games and esports are a popular social hobby, and it’s one that’s accessible to a wide variety of physical ability levels. Some esport student-athletes have started to earn scholarship opportunities, and high schools are beginning to form teams equipped with the same degree of resources as their physical sports teams. However, the two have very different needs.

  • Phoenix High School Completes First Phase of Campus Renovations

    Metro Tech High School, part of the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) in Phoenix, Ariz., recently announced the completion of the first stage of a campus renovation project, according to a news release. The school reopened a series of public-facing business operations spaces including credit union, daycare, floral, cosmetology, and culinary services. It also includes new CTE learning spaces for the school’s nursing assistant, pharmacy, and sports medicine programs.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • DLR Group Announces New Mid-Atlantic Higher Education Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has promoted Principal Shawn Gaither, AIA, LEED AP, to the role of higher education leader in the Mid-Atlantic, according to a news release. Gaither has served with the firm for more than 20 years, most recently as the national higher education business development leader.