WKU’s new Gordon Ford College of Business building is midway through its construction and is currently set to open in Fall 2025.
Construction of the 131,000 square-foot College of Business broke ground on June 14, 2023, just over a year ago. The final steel beam for the building’s structure was placed in April 2024.
The new building will cost around $81 million and is the first WKU construction management project in over 20 years, according to Messer Construction project executive Eric Guffey.
The three-story building will include a coffee shop, study rooms and common areas for students. The second and third stories will consist of office spaces and 21 classrooms.
The building will also feature energy-efficient add-ons including light-saving devices and electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot.
The building’s interior plans are highly centered around student learning with the inclusion of breakout spaces, mock interview rooms, and flexible classroom designs.
Dean Evelyn Thrasher emphasized dedication to student success, with the left side of the first floor being dedicated entirely to the Student Success Center.
According to Thrasher, about 30% of business students are first-generation college students and about 40% are Pell Grant eligible. In Fall 2023, the college welcomed a record 500 first-time freshmen to the college.
“We serve a population that comes here to have their lives changed, and part of doing that is making sure that the building they study in, the building they work in, and the building where they engage with the business community sets them up for success,” Thrasher said.
She also highlighted the intentional lack of walls and doors at the entry of the space.
“One of our goals with the building was to remove barriers, whether those were real barriers or implied barriers, and we wanted students to walk through the front door and naturally navigate to the Student Success Center,” Thrasher said.
A professional clothes closet will be located inside the Student Success Center that will allow students to get full professional wear free of charge.
President Timothy Caboni highlighted financial success, with $11 million raised towards the building. The Kentucky General Assembly also allocated $74,400,000 for the new building in the 2022-2023 Executive Branch Budget.
Caboni also noted the school is ahead of its 10-year master plan, with reevaluation of future plans coming soon.
Caboni said the main goal of the new business college is to elevate the educational experience of students so they can take what they learn in the classroom into the real world.
“My message to any student who’s interested in studying business, is we’re going to be open for business,” Caboni said, “This is an exciting time on our campus.”
News Reporter Libby Simpson can be reached at [email protected].
