$15m gift to boost Kelley building expansion

As part of an effort to raise $60 million to renovate and expand undergraduate facilities at the Kelley School of Business, a $15 million donation to the school, announced Friday, aims to jumpstart that campaign.

Although the gift came from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, the donor was intricately aware of the project and made the donation to get construction underway, said Rick Dupree, Kelley School of Business assistant dean of development and alumni relations.

“The way this is going to be structured will significantly change the way the undergraduate program is delivered. It’s going to be absolutely extraordinary,” Dupree said.

The entire project is scheduled to take five years, and construction is expected to begin by May 2010, Dupree said.

Because of the gift, the architects are now willing to “get serious about the campaign,” Dupree said. “They were simply waiting for us to show some, for lack of a better word, good-faith money.”

The project will involve two phases. The first phase will be the 71,000-square-foot expansion of the original undergraduate building, Dupree said. Once the expansion is completed, the interior building will be renovated floor by floor.

The project will eventually expand the building to the corner of 10th Street and Fee Lane, said IU spokesman George Vlahakis. 

“Our plan is to create space that will facilitate technology-mediated global collaborative learning,” said Dan Smith, Kelley School of Business dean, in an e-mail. “For example, the new facilities will make it possible for students to partner with students at other universities across the globe to work on projects for companies and government organizations.”

Improvements include a lab for researchers, a trading room with resources similar to most Wall Street firms, a communications lab, a 2,000-square-foot multipurpose room on the third floor and a student commons on the first floor, according to the press release.

The entrance as well as some facilities will be designed to be more welcoming for potential undergraduates and parents who come to visit the school.

“The project has been on our wish list for at least three years, but needless to say, the economy has been a little sour, so for someone to step up to this level is not only wonderful in terms of the campaign itself, but really kind of heart-warming,” Dupree said.

And while the recession could force some parts of the University to cut back, it seems the Kelley School will only continue to expand. 

“It’s great, saying this as a business major, that they are expanding and improving their facilities,” said senior Ariana Breckner, president of the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi. “But at the same time I see a lot of students outside of the school that are upset the business school is constantly expanding and receiving increased funding.”