Gatton College of Business and Economics

Coordinates: 38°02′17″N 84°30′23″W / 38.038056°N 84.506525°W / 38.038056; -84.506525 Gatton College of Business and Economics is a college of the University of Kentucky. Founded in 1925 as the College of Commerce, the college was created from the Department of Economics and was given full accreditation by the AACSB International. Initially the college occupied a single room in White Hall. In 1995, the Board of Trustees renamed the College in honor of Mr. Carol Martin "Bill" Gatton, '54, in recognition of his $14 million pledge. The donation was the largest in the history of the University. The current dean is David W. Blackwell.

The college is located in central campus along South Limestone.

Academic units

Degrees offered

Research Centers

LINKS International Center for Social Network Research is a center for the study of social networks within and between organizations.

Gatton College of Business and Economics houses the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER).

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship is also housed within Gatton College of Business and Economics.

Gatton Business and Economics Building

Constructed in the 1960s as the Commerce Building, it was renovated and expanded with a new wing for classrooms in 1992.[1] The original 1960s wing contains graduate and faculty offices for the accounting and economic departments and includes the MBA center. It also features one large auditorium. The 1992 extension added a new three-floor atrium, a new computer laboratory, and 24 classrooms.

The facility has been well maintained, but, as with most facilities of its age, some of the basic mechanical and electrical components have reached the end of their useful lives. None of the current classrooms support modern technology and the current structure of the facility allows only limited renovations or expansions of smaller classrooms. Further, the existing building's limited floor-to-floor heights will not allow classrooms to be outfitted with modern learning technology.

The University of Kentucky has long had this facility as a top request. Prior plans had suggested a completely new facility with estimated project costs of approximately $100 million. The university recognizes that the prior plan cannot be achieved given the public financing reality and is turning to private philanthropy for the project. To that end, the university took a fresh look at the existing facility and reviewed the feasibility and cost of a dramatic renovation and expansion to house modern classrooms, an auditorium, and student assembly spaces. The current concept is now estimated to cost $65 million.[2]

On March 1, 2013, the University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics celebrated the milestone of surpassing the halfway point in its fundraising efforts for the expansion and renovation of its facilities. Joined by UK President Eli Capilouto, Gatton College Dean David W. Blackwell announced that nearly $34 million in private funds has been donated or pledged toward the $65 million project.

The project is part of UK's overall capital improvement plan (House Bill 7) approved by the Kentucky General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Steve Beshear on February 21, 2013. No state tax dollars will be used in any of the UK construction projects, which include the Gatton College, a new science building on campus, and improvements to Commonwealth Stadium and UK's football facilities.

The design phase of the Gatton expansion and renovation project is underway with construction expected to begin in late 2013. The timetable calls for completion of the project by the fall of 2015 or early in 2016.[3]

For more information on the #GattonUnited Capital Campaign visit gattonunited.uky.edu.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Gatton Business and Economics Building." University of Kentucky. 19 Nov. 2006
  2. ↑ #BBNunited "Gatton College of Business and Economics: Building Executive Summary"
  3. ↑ "Gatton College Reaches Fundraising Milestone"

External links

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