Farmer School of Business Building a Doorway to the Future

As you approach the new Farmer School of Business building through a courtyard shaded by decades-old Sweetgum trees and gaze up at the familiar Georgian architecture, complete with red brick and cupola, you get a deep sense of the tradition preserved in Miami’s newest campus landmark.

But to pass between the massive columns and into the building’s spacious Forsythe Commons, where students peck at laptops and buzz in lively conversation, is to make the exciting leap from 200 years of past achievement to the boundless possibilities of tomorrow.

"It says ‘bring us your dreams, and we will help you fulfill them,’" said Roger Jenkins, Dean of the Farmer School of Business. "It conveys the university’s commitment to providing resources necessary to equip our students to lead in the competitive and rapidly changing global marketplace; it provides a creative and supportive environment in which our faculty members can develop their potential."

Completed in time for fall semester classes, the 218,000 square-foot statement, built at the former site of Reid Hall, is the largest academic building on Miami’s campus. It brings together, for the first time under one roof, all six departments of the Farmer School of Business and roughly doubles the physical space the school previously occupied in Laws and Upham halls.

While the building’s role in providing 21st-century resources and attracting top notch faculty and students is crucial to the Farmer School’s objectives, the facility also meets a number of larger university needs. Everything from the 500-seat David R. Taylor Auditorium to the 30 state-of-the-art classrooms and numerous breakout and conference rooms is available to other university departments and organizations. Even the food court, aptly named Dividends Marché, meets the need for a quick dining option in a bourgeoning section of campus.

In addition to the statement made by the sheer physical stature of the four-level building, which required the excavation of nearly 60,000 cubic yards of dirt, almost every aspect of the planning that went into the project says something about the university’s priorities.

One of those priorities was the building’s environmental impact. "We became convinced early on that if we were going to be training future business leaders, we needed to orient the building toward sustainability," assistant dean Alan Oak said.

The building will be the first on Miami’s campus to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification. This began with 90 percent of the former Reid Hall being recycled into use for the new building. Features also include a high-efficiency heating and cooling system that can adjust air quality on a room-by-room basis, fluorescent lighting activated by motion detectors, and ample natural lighting provided by the impressive glass atrium and large thermal windows.

Once you get past the impressive physical and technological attributes of the building, though, you will find the student at its heart. "The majority of the investment in this building is to better serve students – that’s where the important dollars were spent," said Oak.

This commitment is evident in both the academic spaces and the social spaces within the building. Forsythe Commons is furnished with casual furniture to serve as a place of community where students can gather informally to socialize. The easily accessible Student Services Suite is a one-stop shop for a variety of student services while also serving as headquarters for the school’s 18 student organizations.

Academically, the classrooms come in all shapes and sizes. Many are cluster classrooms with chairs and tables that can be easily arranged for small-group or large-group sessions. One room can be converted from MBA classroom to courtroom for Miami’s nationally competitive James Lewis Family Mock Trial Program. There is even a round room for discussion-oriented classes. Each classroom is equipped with the latest in audio/visual technology and many have teleconferencing capabilities.

Perhaps the most eye-popping room is the Chaifetz Trading Center, which allows finance students to gain hands-on experience with market transactions. The room features a scrolling stock market ticker with real-time market data and is one of the most advanced trading pit simulators on any college campus in the U.S.

More than $50 million in private gifts have already been raised in support of the $65 million building, with a leadership gift from the Richard T. Farmer family at the start of The Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor providing much of the inspiration. According to Farmer, the completed building represents a remarkable achievement by the Miami family.

"This project has by far exceeded our expectations," Farmer said. "The architects did a wonderful job in ensuring it compliments Miami’s beautiful campus, and, more importantly, it provides our faculty and students with the very best resources to provide exceptional educational opportunities. This is something we can all be proud of."

According to Jenkins, the building represents a renewed vision for where Miami and the Farmer School of Business can go in the university’s third century.

"This building will result in a total transformation of the way we teach and learn within the Farmer School, and the way we view ourselves and our place in the global marketplace," said Jenkins. "In addition to meeting many important university needs, this kind of world-class facility helps reinforce the Farmer School’s position among the top undergraduate business programs in the country."