Undergraduate business students are eager to settle into their new home in Heavener Hall after the building’s opening ceremony Friday afternoon.
The $35-million, 57,000-square-foot building is located on the corner of West University Avenue and Southwest 13th Street and will hold the Warrington College of Business Administration’s undergraduate programs and activities.
Finance junior Cassidy Haack said she’s excited the hall is open after watching it come together over the last two years.
“The features are a dream come true,” Haack, 20, said. “It’s our little nerdy business school thing. It feels like a business major’s home.”
Heavener Hall boasts nine classrooms, 16 study rooms and 29 advising offices. The college’s undergraduate program serves about 5,000 students and more than 30 organizations.
Horace Tucker, associate director of the School of Business in the Warrington College of Business Administration, said it’s a great resource, and the undergraduate students deserve a home base like the accounting and graduate students.
“It brings the resources into one single space,” Tucker said. “They deserve the best.”
Featured spaces include a professional developmental center, international programs suite, multipurpose area and small cafe. Students can also visit the Discovery Cube, which has a five-minute self-assessment test room where students receive help defining their career paths.
“It will impact the lives of generations of UF students and further enhance our position as one of the nation’s elite business schools,” said John Kraft, dean of the Warrington School of Business Administration.
Kraft said the single, dynamic space will provide great networking opportunities for students who see other students in class but don’t really meet them.
“The journey for each and every undergraduate business student now begins at Heavener Hall,” Kraft said. “This magnificent building will provide the tools and amenities and confidence for students to succeed and develop their dreams.”
Heavener Hall was named in honor of James “Bill” Heavener, a 1970 UF business administration alumnus and the building’s lead benefactor. Heavener has already contributed to a few buildings on campus.
“I’m blown away by all this,” Heavener said. “It’s just been a great journey for me.”
Jasmin Tahirovic, a combined finance and master’s of international business junior, said he’s looking forward to the collaborative study spaces and watching the freshmen delve into involvement — a key out-of-the-classroom component to success in the college.
“Since we heard, we’ve been excited,” Tahirovic, 21, said. “It’s a huge advantage. I’ll be there five days a week.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 11/17/2014]
James “Bill” Heavener and his wife cut a ribbon at the dedication of Heavener Hall on Friday. Heavener, is a 1970 UF business administration alumnus and the building’s lead benefactor.
