Although construction began in December, about 90 people attended the official groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday for William R. Hough Hall, a $23 million building being constructed for graduate business students at UF.
The event featured speeches from UF President Bernie Machen, as well as UF alumnus Bill Hough, whose $30 million donation funded the 70,000-square-foot building.
Later Hough and Machen donned construction hats and held golden shovels to pose for pictures. They were also joined by Hough's family and UF mascots Albert and Alberta.
Hough said the name of the building is intended to honor William R. Hough & Co., the investment banking firm he founded after graduating with UF's first MBA class in 1948.
The three-story building will include meeting rooms, student lounges, and larger hallways and other open areas, where students and faculty can talk after lectures, said Howie Ferguson, the assistant director and senior project manager of UF Facilities Planning & Construction.
"So, there's a lot of very thoughtful spaces in this building beyond the classrooms," Ferguson said.
Rick Rowe of Rowe Architects, a company involved with the project, said Hough Hall, which is located at the northeast end of campus by the Southwest 13th Street entrance, will also have five classrooms and two seminar rooms.
Rowe mentioned other features, such as a central court, a catering area, a board room and a financial market lab.
The building, which will be LEED certified and energy efficient, is expected to open in fall 2010.
Because it is located near historic buildings such as Bryan Hall, the structure's design will be modern yet respectful of its historical context, Rowe said.
While Ferguson noted the facility's value as a tool for recruiting and retaining faculty and students, he said the building has led to the loss of about 118 parking spots.
A new parking garage will be built that will make up for this loss, he said.
Still, UF graduate student Kevin Mesmer, pursuing a finance degree, said he is looking forward to the building's completion because it will provide a home for graduate business students.
Currently, the students have no building to call their own, and their classes are scattered around everywhere, he said.
In his speech at the event, Machen recognized other important opportunities the building will create.
He said the building represents a chance to train the new business leaders of tomorrow and serves as a great symbol during a time when the business community is in need of some new leadership.
In addition, Machen said, as construction at universities across the country grinds to a halt, the new building shows UF is continuing to move forward.
"We're going to keep doing the things that make us the flagship for this state," he said.
In an interview before his speech, Machen pointed to the economic implications of the current construction.
"It shouldn't be lost that, at a time of real economic difficulty, we found the resources to put up a new academic building that will benefit students and faculty," he said.
