| Emory Report | October 6, 1997 |
Volume 50, No. 7 |
More than 1,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends gathered in the courtyard of the Goizueta Business School Sept. 26 to dedicate its new five-story, $25 million building. Speaking for his father, Roberto S. Goizueta, a faculty member at Loyola University and former director of Emory's Aquinas Center, delivered a strong call to action. "More than ever, institutions such as this must train not just business majors, but business thinkers," Goizueta said. "Young people who can apply a variety of skills to the business world, especially creativity. . . . Business schools today cannot just reflect business the way it is. They must teach business the way it will be. That is the great promise of this building, the promise of a more relevant education and a more rewarding, more invigorating career for the students who walk through these doors."
The building's namesake, Roberto C. Goizueta, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, is recuperating from treatment for lung cancer and did not attend the ceremony.
Bradley Currey Jr., chairman of the board of trustees and chairman and CEO of Rock-Tenn Co., said the ceremony offered Emory the opportunity to recognize and honor Goizueta, "a man who has truly helped shape the world of business."
"This building, then-this new home for the Goizueta Business School-stands at a major entrance to the campus and at the heart of much of the undergraduate and professional life at Emory," said President Bill Chace.
Dean Ronald Frank, who is retiring, said, "We find our students racing to learn about the growing international workplace and ready to hone their business management skills for careers in the new millennium. With our state-of-the-art facility and experienced faculty, we're prepared to fuel that momentum and help prepare them to drive the world economy in years to come."
Technology resources are evident throughout the building. There are 1,176 data ports that can connect students to the school's computing network or link them to alumni at businesses around the world. The advanced technology also allows faculty and students to "chat" outside the classroom, post discussion points on electronic bulletin boards, and tap into media outlets and company web sites for the latest business news.
Students are frequently assigned work in teams, so the informal workspaces in the building offer group access to the school's local network as well as the Internet. For example, the first floor lobby has cherry wood banquettes where students can plug their laptop computers into one of four data ports for fast connection to the Internet or a business database in the library. Team study rooms are also equipped with data and electrical connections to allow full network access via laptop computer.
The building's classrooms and 200-seat auditorium have touch-screens that provide one-touch control of all systems, including lights, shades, television monitors, VCRs, desktop computers and remote notebook computers.
For teleconferencing, distance learning or satellite feeds, the audio-visual control room on the ground floor has been equipped with ISDN lines that can feed video transmission to any room in the building. Students and prospective employers can even use the teleconferencing capabilities to conduct long-distance job interviews.
Modern, Renaissance-inspired architecture
Kallman McKinnell & Wood Architects Inc., a Boston firm with extensive
experience in the planning of business schools, designed the facility.
"The bold archways and the scale of the colonnade mark the building as the home of an important institution," said the firm's Michael McKinnell. "The design of the building joins and resonates with the Italian Renaissance-inspired buildings on the Quadrangle. At the same time, the detailing, such as the visor roof that extends beyond the exterior walls, establishes the building as a modern one."
The building's first level is designed for student and social activities. A snack bar, two student lounges and a multipurpose, first-floor classroom are set along a broad public corridor. This corridor opens to a landscaped outdoor amphitheater suitable for gatherings, teaching and celebrations.
Classrooms and study rooms are located on the school's second and third level. The typical classrooms, with tiered seating for 66 in a classic case study arrangement, are set along a wide corridor that opens onto an arcade overlooking the courtyard. A monumental circular staircase and a large entrance lobby are located in the building's northeast corner. An Executive Education Center, with its own reception lobby, offices and 70-seat classroom, is located on the south wing of the second level.
Departmental offices and faculty offices are housed on the business school's fourth and fifth levels. A single row of private offices flanks the public corridor to the north, east and south; clustered offices with shared reception and secretarial spaces are set around the building's courtyard. The fourth level houses faculty offices and faculty services, with an information center (housing computer study areas and teaching spaces) set directly opposite the circular staircase and elevator lobby.
The fifth floor is a combination of faculty offices and clustered areas for the dean's suite and the development programs. Fifth-floor reception areas receive natural light through clerestory windows at the roof level.
-Jan Gleason