Design and Technology Create a Distinctive Learning Environment and One of the
Country's Most Advanced Management Education Facilities
OXFORD, Ohio, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Heralding a new era in business
education, Miami University today announced the official dedication of the new
home of its Farmer School of Business. As one of the most advanced management
education facilities in the country, the new $65 million facility has a unique
focus on increasing communication and collaboration within the school
community as well as technology-enhanced teaching and learning.
The official dedication ceremony* will pay tribute to the building's major
donors - including lead donor Richard T. Farmer, founder of Cintas
Corporation. Combined gifts from private donors, totaling $50 million, funded
nearly 80 percent of the project cost.
"The most inspiring aspect of the new building is seeing the sense of
community that it is generating through the vibrancy of interaction among
students and faculty, and the increased opportunities for spontaneous
collaboration," commented Roger Jenkins, Dean of the Farmer School of
Business.
Dean Jenkins added that the comprehensive new building will, for the first
time, house all aspects of the Farmer School of Business under one roof,
enhancing its ability to successfully prepare students for leadership in 21st
century businesses. "There's no question that it will uniquely support the
school's legacy for fostering and facilitating innovative problem-solving and
teamwork that's so important in today's global workplace," he said.
Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York City and Moody Nolan,
Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, the building took 30 months to construct and was
completed on time and under budget. While the exterior mirrors the red-brick
Georgian Revival style of the majority of Miami University's buildings, the
student-centered interior design reflects a shift toward more small group work
and seminar instruction, as well as experiential and hands-on learning. Just
as importantly, the new building is the first of its kind to promote daily
interaction among faculty members in an effort to expand frames of reference,
collaboration and curricular integration.
"A great college building -- and the Farmer School's new hall is a great
college building -- is known not only for its enduring beauty but even more
for its support of a great educational experience," commented David Hodge,
President of Miami University. "I am delighted that this new home for the
Farmer School will provide exceptional learning opportunities for students
enrolled in one of the nation's top ranked business programs."
Hands-On and Technology-Enhanced Learning
The building is designed to provide students with a variety of real world
experiences that are an integrated part of the curriculum. This includes
participating in financial market activity through the Chaifetz Trading Center
which simulates transactions based upon real-time electronic feeds from
Bloomberg and Reuters via dozens of dual-monitor computer stations. The
high-tech, 1,800-square-foot Center also features scrolling stock market
tickers, projection screens, and an adjacent room with a viewing window.
In addition to Wi-Fi capabilities that can serve up to 3,000 users and polling
devices to measure student comprehension, classrooms are designed to raise the
level of interaction during class periods. The building also includes a pair
of behavior labs with a central observation room and a Mock Trial practice
room with special "courtroom" furnishings that can be wheeled into place.
Environmental Sustainability
The new facility exemplifies the Farmer School of Business' commitment to
environmental sustainability by being the first building at Miami University
to pursue LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.
One of the key components of LEED practices is reduction of waste and an
active effort to reuse materials during the construction process. To that
end, much scrap material from the deconstruction of the building that
previously occupied the site was either sold or reused during construction.
Concrete was crushed and used for the base of the new structure and more than
90 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill.
Additionally, most building materials were manufactured within 500 miles of
Oxford.
Because LEED promotes the need for open space and environmentally conscious
landscaping, the surrounding green space is a larger area than the built space
and includes mature trees to provide a heat reducing canopy. There was also a
significant commitment to efficiency that involved efforts to reduce water and
energy consumption via motion-sensitive technologies, maximizing natural
lighting, and insulation utilization.
Farmer School Accolades
In the 2009 BusinessWeek survey of the nation's best undergraduate business
programs, the Farmer School of Business ranked 18th overall and 6th among
those offered by public universities and colleges, making it the
highest-ranked undergraduate business program in Ohio. Additionally, a 2009
survey of accelerated MBA programs conducted by the Wall Street Journal and
released in September ranked The Farmer School's 14-month MBA program 9th in
the world and 3rd among such programs in the U.S.
*The official dedication ceremony, which is open to the entire Miami community
and the public, takes place Saturday, November 7 at 2 p.m. in the 500-seat
David R. Taylor Auditorium.
SOURCE Miami University
Media: George Sopko, of Stanton Public Relations & Marketing for Miami
University, +1-646-502-3507, GSopko@StantonPRM.com
