Huntsman Hall becomes newest building on Utah State’s campus
Wednesday afternoon marked the grand opening of Huntsman Hall, the new expansion of the Huntsman School of Business. The festivities included speeches from various dignitaries, the ceremonial ribbon cutting and an open house for the public.
“There is no business building in America that is a finer business building than this,” said Douglas Anderson, Dean of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business. And with a price tag of $50 million, he just might be right.
The Eccles Business Building, or the “old” building, opened in May of 1970, just one year before Anderson started his own undergraduate education at Utah State. The building was designed to accommodate over 1,000 students, a huge amount of space at the time.
Now, nearly 50 years later, the business school found itself cramped into that small space with over 3,000 students enrolled last semester. When Anderson became dean in 2006, administrators recognized this problem, plans were made to expand, and the rest is history.
The Grand Opening event included speeches by Governor Gary Herbert, Jon M. Huntsman (the school’s namesake), and USU President Stan Albrecht, and was attended by many donors and distinguished alumni of the business school. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints offered the dedicatory prayer.
Attached to the Eccles Business Building, the new facility is home to 21 new classrooms. Each is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and tiered seating, designed to make classes feel smaller and more interactive. The newest campus dining location, Shaw’s 88, is situated on the ground level, featuring the Famous Aggie Ice Cream. In the upper levels there are 21 group study rooms, offering views of Cache Valley along with a 60-inch screen mounted on the wall. Common areas are located in the center of each floor, with seating and tables designed for student lounging and studying.
“The bulk of the space is oriented around student needs,” Anderson said. “That’s been the driving theme throughout this whole process: build a home for our students.”
There are plenty of things business students have to say about their new “home.”
“I am honestly thrilled and excited,”said Steve Wilcox, President of the Business Council. “My favorite part of the new building is the view, by far.”
Lexi Howe, another student and member of the Business Council, said, “I think it’s beautiful. All the views are incredible. In the classrooms there is more hands-on learning. The focus is more on us.”
A process that has been ten years in the making, the business school is taking time to celebrate Huntsman Hall’s completion. According to Dave Patel, Associate Dean of Student & External Affairs, the next week will be full of events and celebrations for students, faculty, and donors.
“It’s a series of events,” he said. In addition to Wednesday’s festivities, there is a faculty and staff event planned for March 21, as well as student-planned events the entire following week, including a service project and celebratory gala.
Anderson emphasized that this new home for the business school would not be possible without the generosity of so many donors. Seventy percent of the $50 million project cost was provided by individual donations in the amounts of millions of dollars. Recognition plaques scatter the building, bearing the names of its benefactors.
“If we raised $10,000 per week, it would take us 100 years to pay for the business building,” Anderson said. “All of us owe these donors an incredible debt of gratitude.”
“We are very fortunate to have this kind of community supporting us,” said Austin Hawes, a business student and ambassador. “I rarely say this, but now I actually look forward to going to class.”
Anderson believes this building is leaving a legacy to future generations of business scholars. “This building will last for more than a hundred years. I’m not sure how many hundreds of years, but it’s safe to say this is a multi-century building.” That means multiple centuries of learning and “daring mighty things,” as the school’s motto states.
“The most important thing is not so much the building itself, but what will go on in this building,” President Stan Albrecht said.
Classes are set to begin in the new building on April 4.
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