The University of Evansville's newest academic building will be named for a family whose name is virtually synonymous with UE and the city's business community.

Ground will be broken next month on the Schroeder Family School of Business Administration Building, which will be a renovated and expanded version of what is now known as McCurdy Alumni Memorial Union.

The first phase will involve a 35,000-square-foot addition, which is expected to be ready for use in fall 2007. It will include a 129-seat, two-tiered lecture hall, five 48-student classrooms, an executive board room and smaller classrooms and meeting spaces.

Phase II will begin once UE completes its new University Center, expected to be constructed in 2008. University offices now in the Union will be relocated, and the vacated space will be retrofitted for School of Business use.

UE's business school has been on the second floor of Hyde Hall since the late 1960s, and it has had no significant renovations or expansions in the years since. UE President Stephen Jennings said the Schroeder family is donating generously to the building project, and its name "will forever honor these individuals who have made such a difference to our community and the University of Evansville."

The renovations will cost $11 million, according to UE officials, who said the Schroeder family wishes to keep the amount of its contribution confidential.

John C. Schroeder is the current president of the UE Board of Trustees and the president of Crescent Plastics and Wabash Plastics, while his father, John H. Schroeder, is a former UE board president and the founder of Crescent Plastics, Wabash Plastics, Cresline Plastic Pipe Co. and Cresline-West.

Richard Schroeder, the brother of John C. Schroeder and an executive in the family

businesses, and Ruth (Schroeder) Bromm, the sister of John H. Schroeder, also are supporters of UE, university officials said.

The building's architects are Hafer Associates of Evansville and Mackey Mitchell Associates of St. Louis. Hafer Associates also was hired by the University of Southern Indiana to design its school of business building, which will be built in the next few years.

The design, according to UE, has certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, which is a voluntary national standard for maintaining an area's natural qualities amid new construction.

The school has about 300 students, all of whom have to complete an internship before graduation. UE's business school was accredited last year by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and Clark said it is to provide globally focused education.

"We said accreditation was a milestone, but it wasn't the end," Clark said.