Ithaca College

The new School of Business building is making a distinctive addition to the South Hill skyline. Early in construction the project made visible progress by the day. Now that the shell is enclosed, headway is more difficult to notice, yet work is proceeding apace. The building is on schedule to welcome business classes in January 2008.

Inside the building, work continues on the sustainable features that will be a hallmark of the facility. The College will seek platinum-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the project, a notable emblem of sustainable achievement developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Sustainable features include:

• Glass throughout the building so that 98 percent of the building’s usable space will receive natural light.
• A two-tiered roof. For maximum insulation the lower section will be covered in vegetation, and the higher one will have a reflective white surface.
• A storm-water reclamation system.
• Energy and other utility systems that will be 50 percent more efficient than required by New York State code.
• Native species for landscaping. These plants won’t require anything other than the natural climate to thrive.

In recent weeks we’ve seen window installation begin, and now the building’s yellow exterior is being dressed in blue as crews apply a membrane to which the permanent exterior panels will be affixed. Next, a two-tiered pedestrian walkway will be installed. Its enclosed lower level will connect the ground floor of the business building to the central corridor in Friends and Job Halls; its exterior upper level will pass over the central corridor to the gap between Friend and Job Halls, making for easy access to the quad.

Also, preliminary site work will begin soon on the gateway building in front of Dillingham Center. The placement of the business school and gateway buildings is a key element of the "Main Street" concept envisioned in the campus master plan.

Meanwhile, the School of Business faculty and staff are preparing to occupy their new home. “Our goal is to offer a business education as unique and innovative as the building in which our classes will be taught,” says Dean Susan West Engelkemeyer. Faculty teams are working on curricular innovations, and the school is looking to increase experiential learning as well as expand leadership and teamwork opportunities -- all of which the new building is designed to promote and support.

Fund-raising for the new School of Business building -- one of our six priorities in the Campaign for Ithaca College -- stands at $14 million, leaving about $3 million still to be raised. To add your support, please visit the new business school's giving page. Also, you can keep up with the progress of the building's construction on the School of Business home page, by clicking "Watch Our Progress," to view a time-lapse sequence of the building's construction, and "Construction Cam," a feature that snaps a fresh image of the site every 10 minutes.