UofL school on the move
New graduate business home slated downtown
The Courier-Journal
1/31/2008

By Dan Klepal

Graduate students at the University of Louisville business school will move closer to the business community in 2010, when the three programs move downtown to Museum Plaza.

The college's two-year MBA for working professionals, entrepreneurial MBA and master of accountancy will move to West Main Street and be the northernmost gateway into the planned skyscraper.

The graduate programs are held at night, leaving the building's seminar rooms available for corporate training during the day. The college also will produce custom programs for corporations.

"Successful business schools have a close relationship with the business community," R. Charles Moyer, dean of the business school, said at a news conference yesterday, adding there is a lack of space at the Belknap Campus. "We decided the place to be is where the action is."

It's a $15 million project, and the capital campaign to raise the cash already has begun.

Moyer said the university is negotiating a naming-rights deal that could raise "half to two-thirds" of the money needed. Moyer would not say with whom the university is negotiating but called it an "internationally high-profile" name. He said no state money will be used for capital costs.

National City Bank of Kentucky also has made a donation, which Moyer declined to specify.

The 40,000-square-foot building will have a four-storefront façade facing Main Street, retaining the original 19th-century Italianate architecture.

But the interiors of those buildings have been gutted and will have a modern space featuring glass, steel and concrete.

The ground floor of the building will have a restaurant or retail space, with the university using five floors above -- an atrium reception area, computer labs, four large classrooms (60 to 70 seats), two smaller classrooms (40 seats), seminar rooms and office space.

From the lobby, people can walk on a bridge to a park under Museum Plaza or take a slanted glass elevator into the skyscraper.

U of L President James Ramsey said it was important to move ahead with the project despite Gov. Steve Beshear's budget -- unveiled Tuesday -- that calls for a 12 percent cut for higher-education spending.

Ramsey said it would mean a $25 million reduction for the university in each year of the state's biannual budget and reduce U of L's state funding to 2001 levels.

"Our worst-case scenario became reality" Tuesday night, Ramsey said. "The impacts to the university will be devastating, but more importantly, the impacts on the community will be devastating. So it's a legitimate question: Should we move forward at this time?

"We can't afford not to move forward. What we're doing is too important to throw up our hands."

When asked what specific programs might be affected by the cuts, Ramsey declined to answer, adding those questions will be resolved in the next couple of months.

Museum Plaza is planned to be a $490 million, 62-story building with lofts, condos, a contemporary art center, office and retail space, along with a Westin hotel. Officials broke ground this fall, with the hope of opening the skyscraper by 2011.

The business school building is to be opened one year earlier.

"It's a special university that has made the commitment to this community and continues to make a commitment to this community," Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson said. He added that the location will allow students to hop on the elevator during their breaks, cruise up to the main skyscraper and "maybe have a beverage."

"Not on their breaks," Moyer added.

Reporter Dan Klepal can be reached at (502) 582-4475.