Baylor Celebrates ‘Topping Out’ of $100 Million Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation
Dynamic new home for Baylor's Hankamer School of Business will open in fall 2015
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Contacts: Lori Fogleman, 254-710-6275 or Eric Eckert, 254-710-1964
WACO, Texas (Nov. 21, 2014) – Since 2001, Baylor University has invested more than $1 billion in new academic, residential and athletics facilities on its campus. Today, Baylor reached the significant "topping out" milestone – or midpoint of construction – on its latest project: the $100 million, 275,000-square-foot Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation.
The Foster Campus will provide a dynamic new home for the University's nationally ranked Hankamer School of Business when it opens in fall 2015.
To celebrate the "topping out," as work continues, the final steel beams signed by major donors, students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends will be joined together and fitted into place at the top of the Foster Campus structure.
Following a remarkably successful fundraising campaign – including an historic $35 million gift in June 2013 from El Paso businessman and Baylor graduate Paul L. Foster, B.B.A. '79, and major gifts from 530 additional donors – construction on the Foster Campus began in December 2013 on property along Bagby Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets.
Once open, the Foster Campus will expand the size of the business school by 40 percent and increase opportunities for student and faculty collaboration across areas of business, science and technology.
The building's architectural design features a highly corporate and sustainable business environment that accommodates innovation, flexibility and interaction. In addition, a variety of classroom learning spaces will fully incorporate the latest classroom technology while providing flexibility to adapt as technology advances.
Among the features of the Foster Campus:
• 41 classrooms, 36 team rooms and numerous seminar spaces to accommodate more than 3,300 undergraduate and graduate students and more than 240 faculty members
• 267 offices for administrators and faculty in the School's 15 academic departments
• A 10,000-square-foot centerpiece atrium with a café, providing collaborative learning and social space
• A 9,200-square-foot conference center providing flexibility to host seminars, symposia and conferences for business professionals, as well as banquet seating for more than 300 people
• A 350-seat auditorium providing space for large classes and guest lectures
• Innovative technologies such as lecture capture, video conferencing and distance learning capabilities
• Zero chalkboards and 154 displays
• A state-of-the-art financial markets center that will simulate the environment of an investment firm, giving students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in managing a multi-million-dollar portfolio
• Sustainability efforts that include innovative mechanical systems, dimmable LED lighting, daylighting, green power and water-use reduction. As a result, Baylor will seek LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification on the Foster Campus.
Established in 1923, Baylor's Hankamer School of Business currently offers 24 undergraduate and 13 graduate areas of study with more than 3,300 undergraduate and graduate students and 200 staff and faculty members. The Hankamer building, which houses most of the administrative offices for the school, was constructed in the late 1950s and early '60s, while the Cashion Academic Center next door, which houses the classrooms, was added in the 1980s.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.
ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business provides a rigorous academic experience, consisting of classroom and hands-on learning, guided by Christian commitment and a global perspective. Recognized nationally for several programs, including Entrepreneurship and Accounting, the school offers 24 undergraduate and 13 graduate areas of study. Visit www.baylor.edu/business and follow on Twitter at @Baylor_Business.