OXFORD, Ohio, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Heralding a new era in business education, Miami University today announced the official dedication of the new home of its Farmer School of Business. As one of the most advanced management education facilities in the country, the new $65 million facility has a unique focus on increasing communication and collaboration within the school community as well as technology-enhanced teaching and learning.

The official dedication ceremony* will pay tribute to the building's major donors - including lead donor Richard T. Farmer, founder of Cintas Corporation. Combined gifts from private donors, totaling $50 million, funded nearly 80 percent of the project cost.

"The most inspiring aspect of the new building is seeing the sense of community that it is generating through the vibrancy of interaction among students and faculty, and the increased opportunities for spontaneous collaboration," commented Roger Jenkins, Dean of the Farmer School of Business.

Dean Jenkins added that the comprehensive new building will, for the first time, house all aspects of the Farmer School of Business under one roof, enhancing its ability to successfully prepare students for leadership in 21st century businesses. "There's no question that it will uniquely support the school's legacy for fostering and facilitating innovative problem-solving and teamwork that's so important in today's global workplace," he said.

Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York City and Moody Nolan, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, the building took 30 months to construct and was completed on time and under budget. While the exterior mirrors the red-brick Georgian Revival style of the majority of Miami University's buildings, the student-centered interior design reflects a shift toward more small group work and seminar instruction, as well as experiential and hands-on learning. Just as importantly, the new building is the first of its kind to promote daily interaction among faculty members in an effort to expand frames of reference, collaboration and curricular integration.

"A great college building -- and the Farmer School's new hall is a great college building -- is known not only for its enduring beauty but even more for its support of a great educational experience," commented David Hodge, President of Miami University. "I am delighted that this new home for the Farmer School will provide exceptional learning opportunities for students enrolled in one of the nation's top ranked business programs."

Hands-On and Technology-Enhanced Learning

The building is designed to provide students with a variety of real world experiences that are an integrated part of the curriculum. This includes participating in financial market activity through the Chaifetz Trading Center which simulates transactions based upon real-time electronic feeds from Bloomberg and Reuters via dozens of dual-monitor computer stations. The high-tech, 1,800-square-foot Center also features scrolling stock market tickers, projection screens, and an adjacent room with a viewing window.

In addition to Wi-Fi capabilities that can serve up to 3,000 users and polling devices to measure student comprehension, classrooms are designed to raise the level of interaction during class periods. The building also includes a pair of behavior labs with a central observation room and a Mock Trial practice room with special "courtroom" furnishings that can be wheeled into place.

Environmental Sustainability

The new facility exemplifies the Farmer School of Business' commitment to environmental sustainability by being the first building at Miami University to pursue LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

One of the key components of LEED practices is reduction of waste and an active effort to reuse materials during the construction process. To that end, much scrap material from the deconstruction of the building that previously occupied the site was either sold or reused during construction. Concrete was crushed and used for the base of the new structure and more than 90 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill. Additionally, most building materials were manufactured within 500 miles of Oxford.

Because LEED promotes the need for open space and environmentally conscious landscaping, the surrounding green space is a larger area than the built space and includes mature trees to provide a heat reducing canopy. There was also a significant commitment to efficiency that involved efforts to reduce water and energy consumption via motion-sensitive technologies, maximizing natural lighting, and insulation utilization.

Farmer School Accolades

In the 2009 BusinessWeek survey of the nation's best undergraduate business programs, the Farmer School of Business ranked 18th overall and 6th among those offered by public universities and colleges, making it the highest-ranked undergraduate business program in Ohio. Additionally, a 2009 survey of accelerated MBA programs conducted by the Wall Street Journal and released in September ranked The Farmer School's 14-month MBA program 9th in the world and 3rd among such programs in the U.S.

*The official dedication ceremony, which is open to the entire Miami community and the public, takes place Saturday, November 7 at 2 p.m. in the 500-seat David R. Taylor Auditorium.

SOURCE Miami University