Feb. 21, 2006

Open for Business

University Celebrates Grand Opening of the School of Business’ New Home

BY THOMAS KOHOUT

Since 1903, every trading session on Wall Street has opened with the ringing of the bell, and so it was with a few swift strokes of the hammer, Dean Susan Phillips rang in a new era for The George Washington University School of Business in its progressive new home in the Ric and Dawn Duquès and Norma Lee and Morton Funger halls, Feb. 8.

University dignitaries, from former deans of the school to past and present members of the Board of Trustees to prominent alumni, filled the Oglethorpe Great Hall, named for Raymond J. Oglethorpe, Jr. (MS ’69), to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the more than $50 million business facility.

Dean Susan Phillips took a moment to thank her predecessors, many of whom were in attendance. “This is a facility that has been a vision of the School of Business for many years. I want to give special recognition to the former deans of the School of Business: David Fowler, Norma Loeser, [James] “Jed” Kee, and representing Ben Burdetsky, his wife, Irene Burdetsky. They laid much of the groundwork for our wonderful new home. Our new facility is a testament to the outstanding reputation they created for the school.”

In his remarks, GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg highlighted the union of new and old in the facility.

“Something struck me every time I walked past Duquès Hall while it was under construction,” he told the audience. “If you look to the left where the new building joins the older Funger Hall facility, the connection is very, very subtle. … [T]wo buildings, of very different styles, seem to merge rather than collide. That’s not merely an architectural or even a symbolic observation. Once you enter either building the transition from one to another is seamless — the carpets, the finishes, and even the number plates on the doors. Together these two buildings make a true unit. The new home for GW’s School of Business.”

He added, “It’s a splendid thing that we finally have a Business School facility that our basketball school can be proud of.”

Following introductions Fred Smith, chair, president, and chief executive officer of FedEx Corporation, presented the keynote address “Going with the Flow: How to Succeed in a Macro-trend Environment.” In his remarks, Smith outlined four macro economic trends he believes business and government leaders need to be aware of moving toward the heart of the 21st Century — increasing growth of high-tech and high value-added goods, the increasing integration of the global economy, the emergence of the Internet as a medium of exchange, and the adoption of fast-cycle logistics.

The week-long celebration began Feb. 6 with the 2006 Robert P. Maxon Lecture, featuring N. R. Narayana Murthy, chair of the board and chief mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited. Murthy presented “Good Corporate Governance: A Mindset or a Checklist?”

Also highlighted through panels and discussions during the week were many of the school’s premier programs and departments. Panel discussions explored “Business Leadership in the 21st Century,” and “Corporate Governance and Ethics,” Feb. 8, while GW’s Center for Latin American Issues, Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence, and Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis each hosted faculty research presentations during the open house Feb. 10.

Ric and Dawn Duquès Hall features an impressive Capital Markets Room, 27 state-of-the art classrooms with built-in audiovisual technology and executive-style chairs, a 115-seat auditorium, 19 team rooms, three computer labs, and bright and spacious student lounges and study areas. The new building serves as the hub of business student activity, with classrooms and services. It connects on four floors to the renovated Funger Hall, home to the majority of the school’s faculty offices, bringing the School of Business’ nine academic units and many related programs and services under one roof.

The facility also features 194 underground parking spaces, an executive conference center, a business center for student use, a Java City food venue, student e-mail terminals on the second floor, and a state-of-the-art behavior lab with an observation classroom for marketing students. "

The grand opening of Duquès Hall and the renovation of Funger Hall represent significant capital investments by GW in the Foggy Bottom Campus. Within the past five years, nearly a dozen new buildings have opened or been renovated, including the Media and Public Affairs Building (opened March 2001), the Annette and Theodore Lerner Health and Wellness Center (opened August 2001), The George Washington University Hospital (opened August 2002), the home of GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs at 1957 E St. (completed Sept. 2002), and the addition of the Marc C. Abrams Great Hall (dedicated Dec. 2002) as well as renovations to J Street Dining (opened August 2004) in the Cloyd Heck Marvin Center. "

The University also added five new residence halls on the Foggy Bottom Campus, including Potomac House (opening August 2006), Ivory Tower (opened in 2004), Townhouse Row (opened in 2003), 1959 E St. (opened in 2002), and New Hall (opened in 1997).

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