Kelley School dedicates new graduate building

On Friday, the Kelley School of Business will unveil its new state of the art home for graduate education programs and research centers at 2 p.m. in the building's forum. \nThe Graduate and Executive Education Center will offer over 180,000 square feet of classroom and office space and innovations in campus technology making it a "landmark event."\nThe new addition means fixing problems the Kelley School has faced in the past, including space and technological restrictions. \nAssociate Dean of the Faculties and Chair of the MBA Program James Wimbush said these new features make the opening an event of "sure excitement." \n"With the new building we can finally do some of things we couldn't do before," Wimbush said. "It gives us greater room, technology and overall comfort."\nWith the number of classrooms more than tripled, limitations of space will finally be corrected. \n"There simply wasn't enough room," Wimbush said. "The new facility allows us more room to do more team work, which is very important to our program."\nTechnological advances will also be an integral part of the new graduate school. It is the most wired building on campus and also offers the most access to wireless connections. \nKelley graduate student Michele Liew, who will speak on the student's response at the ceremony, said the new technology will "really benefit students on campus."\n"The new wireless connection will be real nice since it won't confine you to one space," Liew said. "Anyone that has a laptop can just work almost anywhere without looking for an outlet, which is nice when you're working in groups."\nOther features of the new building will include a video conference center and a "trading room" with informational resources comparable to most Wall Street firms.\nWimbush said the new addition will also be helpful in attracting outside involvement from many business firms. \n"With this building we will attract many businesses to our campus," Wimbush said. "It symbolizes our advances to create a place of high technology and professionalism."\nWimbush said it will help continue to maintain the Kelley School's reputation as one of the best business schools in the nation.\n"The program is already top ranked," Liew said. "Now with this new building it will only make the graduate program at the Kelley School even better."\nBeyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners of New York and Washington. D.C. were the chief architects of the building, and John Belle of the firm will present the new building at the event. \nMargaret Garrison, one of the planners of the event, said the event is expecting to draw a crowd from the business world elite. \n"It reflects the culmination of years of work," Garrison said. "It is a celebratory event that will bring any number of alumni and business executives."\nThe keynote speaker of the ceremony will be Ford Motor Co. President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Scheele. Scheele has a long history with IU. He received his B.A. degree at IU in 1951 and today is a member of the Kelley School's Dean's Advisory Council. Also, while working at Jaguar Cars. Ltd., Scheele helped the Kelley School celebrate its 75th anniversary with an international conference held in Wiesbaden, Germany.\nFollowing the ceremony will be an informal reception and tours of the new facilities led by Kelley students. Additional speakers include IU President Myles Brand, IUB Chancellor Sharon Brehm and Chairman of the IU board of trustees Frederick Eichhorn, Jr.