UE Business School to get new home

UE Breaks Ground on New Schroeder Family School of Business Administration Building Ground was broken today for the our newest addition to campus – the Schroeder Family School of Business Administration Building. The building, which will eventually encompass the entire McCurdy Alumni Memorial Union, begins with this ground breaking for a new 35,000 sq. ft. addition to the building. The addition is expected to be completed by next fall. Phase II will include renovations to the entire Union.

“This building signifies the importance of business education to the University and for our community,” said UE President Stephen Jennings. “Our respect for the Schroeders and their example-setting success in business and generosity in donations, has led us to name the building for its family members -- John H. Schroeder, John C. Schroeder, Richard Schroeder, and Ruth (Schroeder) Bromm. This will forever honor these individuals who have made such a difference to our community and the University of Evansville. Our University would not be what it is today without the Schroeder Family.”

Phase I of the plan includes 35,000 square feet of a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified new addition to the existing Union, which will uniquely preserve the outer wall of the south side of the Union, transforming it into the interior wall of an atrium connecting the old to the new. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Part of the LEED certification includes keeping as much of the natural attributes of an area as possible intact.

The main floor of the new addition will include a 129-seat tiered lecture hall, and two, 48-student classrooms. The lower level will have three, 48-student classrooms, and other small meeting spaces. The top floor of the building will feature an executive board room, three more classrooms and student resource rooms.


In Phase II, retrofitting of existing spaces in the current Union will begin. Dunigan Hall will be transformed into a classroom and lounge area with computer labs and conference rooms. Faculty offices will be located in the lower level and in the area where the Bower-Suhrheinrich Room is currently. The Institute for Global Enterprise will be housed on the third floor of the Union, where the International Center now resides. Phase I and II together will encompass a total of 65,000 square feet of space. Total cost of the entire project will be approximately $11 million.

Business courses have been offered at the University of Evansville for the past 84 years. During the 1922-23 school year, so many courses were being offered and faculty hired that the Department of Business Administration was formed. In 1968, after advancements in business education at UE, the department became the School of Business Administration. In December 2005, the University earned specialized accreditation for the School of Business Administration's undergraduate bachelor's degree programs by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the premier international accrediting agency and service organization for business schools around the world.

Architects for the project include Hafer Associates of Evansville and Mackey Mitchell Associates of St. Louis. The prime contract was awarded to ARC Construction Company of Evansville.