Huntsman Hall

Why a new building?

Since 1970, the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business has been housed in the George S. Eccles Business Building. The Eccles Building provided an outstanding physical facility for forty years of business education at USU, and stands as a beacon for business within the community. Tens of thousands of students have learned in the classrooms of this hallmark Cache Valley building. Unfortunately, we have exceeded the physical capacity of the Eccles Building. Our students take classes in buildings across campus. Our faculty and staff are scattered as well.

We need more classrooms. We need these classrooms to accommodate learning in a global and technology-infused world. “The way students learn, and the way we teach them has changed,” noted Dean Douglas Anderson. “Every classroom needs the capacity to interact with the world.”

In 2008, we spent significant resources to retrofit classrooms and to renovate the second and third floors of the Eccles Building. But there remains a continuing need to update the Eccles Building on the remaining floors. And we also need more classrooms – especially modern, case-based, tiered classrooms. We need more student team meeting rooms. And most of all, we need a singular space to gather the Huntsman School community and define our vision for the next generations of students.

A dream begins to materialize

With these needs in mind, and with support from university leadership, especially from USU President Stan Albrecht, and with the support of our national advisory board, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends, we began discussions with some our key supporters to put in place a plan to raise half of the needed funds from private support and half as a match from the State of Utah. “Our alumni and friends truly came through for us when we needed them, and that is a testament to the Aggie spirit,” noted President Albrecht.

Over the course of the last several months, we were amazed and humbled in hearing from the principal donors who enabled us to raise the private portion of the projected building cost. The namesake of our business school, Jon Huntsman, provided the lead and anchor gift that got us started. This private support was then complemented by funding from the State of Utah. This public-private partnership occurred despite difficult economic times. This is a testament to a commitment to higher education and a recognition that the business school remains a tremendous engine of growth for our community and our country.

Huntsman Hall

In January 2012, we concluded an extensive assessment of our program needs, taking into account future enrollment, technology change, and the very way in which students learn. Throughout this process, we received input from faculty, staff, students, and alumni. The end result is a collaborative decision into our current and future needs. With a construction firm selected just weeks ago, we now begin the process of designing the building based on our program needs.

We envision Huntsman Hall to be emblematic of our vision and values and to promote interaction just through its very design. It will be a place for people to be involved with others, for active learning, for interaction, collaboration, teamwork. Most of all, we envision the physical space as one that promotes community.

You can find more about the building process by following a blog written by Ken Snyder, the executive dean and chief administrative officer for the Huntsman School.