Welcome to the James A. Haslam II Business Building
Technologically Advanced; Architecturally Inspiring
Today’s Executive MBA students are among thousands who are celebrating and benefiting from the completion of the James A. Haslam II Business Building. Connected to the past with the retention of its historic Glocker Business Building façade, the new, six-story structure offers 34 classrooms, 35 team and presentation rooms, and 75 offices to serve UT’s College of Business Administration’s students, faculty, and staff.
Jan R. Williams, dean of UT’s College of Business Administration, said that when it came to naming the new building, the decision was easy. Jim Haslam and his wife, Natalie, are alumni of the university (Jim from the College of Business Administration and Natalie from the College of Arts and Sciences). They recently donated $7.5 million to the college as part of a $38.2 million gift to the university.
“Support from the Haslams and others allows us to build upon programs that best prepare our students to compete in a global world,” Williams said.
The building inspires students, faculty, and visitors with its dramatic, three-story atrium crowned by a vaulted glass ceiling that draws the eyes upward. Innovative architecture and sophisticated technology sets the building apart from business buildings nationwide.
Classrooms are outfitted with computerized podiums that enable educators to do much more than lecture. Fully equipped team rooms enable students to work together on projects and practice presentations.
Tom Ladd, associate dean for research and technology, said the university collaborated for five years with Architects Weeks Ambrose McDonald Inc. and Ross/Fowler PC to make this new building a reality.
“Classrooms are arranged in vertical zones, with the first floor used for undergraduate university courses not directly connected to the college. The second and third floors are for undergraduate business courses, the fourth and fifth floors are for graduate students, and the sixth floor is for executive education,” said Ladd. The sixth floor is where the Executive MBA and Center for Executive Education offices now are located.
Ladd contends that the Haslam building has set a new standard for educational buildings. “There’s just nothing like it,” he said.
The computerized podiums include document cameras that project images onto huge screens and technology that can broadcast up to eight television channels. Multi-media presentations easily accommodate laptops, DVDs, and iPods. A phone call can be placed directly from the podium and broadcast to the entire class.
Digital cameras and sound systems make it possible to record classroom activity and broadcast it on the Internet. Classroom technology facilitates distance-education and presentations from remote locations. International videoconferencing capabilities and electric flipcharts encourage interactive brainstorming.
“These are the most technology-advanced classrooms in the nation, probably the world,” Ladd said, “We’ve already become a model of excellence for other educational institutions.”
Such excellence is what prompted the gift from the Haslams. “Well-educated people who know how to leverage technology in a global marketplace will be the ones who succeed,” Haslam said. “They are the leaders of the future and our country’s most significant advantage. This gift is to ensure that UT leads the way.”