UofL College of Business to relocate graduate programs to Museum Plaza project, connecting Louisville’s past and future.

Classes begin in 2010

The University of Louisville College of Business will blend proud traditions and dynamic plans when it relocates its graduate programs to downtown Louisville, creating a state-of-the-art advanced education facility in the heart of the city’s central business district.

The college will build out the space in the 600 block of West Main Street behind four historic building facades recently preserved to provide access to Museum Plaza. The planned $490-million Museum Plaza project, which is expected to re-define the Louisville skyline, also will include commercial, cultural and residential components. (www.museumplaza.net)

In addition to housing the college’s Professional MBA, Entrepreneurship MBA (IMBA) and Master of Accountancy programs with their faculty and administrative staffs, the new Center for Graduate and Executive Education will include facilities for non-degree executive education courses as well as conference and seminar spaces for corporate use.

 “Our programs are growing and we simply need more space,” said College of Business Dean Charlie Moyer. “And there’s no place more exciting than downtown Louisville to create a great new learning environment for working professionals. With our focus on entrepreneurship, this will allow our students and faculty to interact with business leaders on every level.”

Last year Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review ranked the college’s graduate program among the top 10 in the U.S. for entrepreneurs. Fortune Small Business magazine rated UofL as one of “America’s best colleges for entrepreneurs” for 2008 based on the success of the graduate program.

The college will own and occupy approximately 40,000 sq. ft. on floors two through six, including tiered classrooms, student lounges, flexible seminar spaces, study rooms and expansive views overlooking the Ohio River. Located at 615-621 West Main, the building’s first floor is expected to host retail and restaurant spaces leased by Museum Plaza.

In design and function, the new building will have two ‘faces’ that create a metaphor for the college’s goals in moving downtown. With one entrance on historic West Main Street, the building will provide the primary connection between Museum Plaza and Louisville’s central business district. A second, contemporary entrance located at the base of the development’s unique funicular (diagonal elevator) faces the river and provides pedestrian access over Washington Street via a new plaza and promenade to the Muhammad Ali Center and the Belvedere.

“We’re connecting Louisville’s past and its future,” said Dean Moyer. “And since the goal is to produce the next generation of business leaders, this is the ideal combination — the leading business school in Kentucky bringing resources into the Commonwealth’s number one business center.”

Construction will commence later this year with occupancy expected before fall 2010.
The $15 million project will be financed by individual and corporate contributions, including a major gift from National City Bank. The center also offers an intended major naming opportunity.

The Main Street location was selected as the most appropriate of seven projects submitted in response to the college’s request for proposals.

“It has everything we were looking for, including convenience, affordability and the opportunity to provide students exceptional learning experiences,” said Dean Moyer. “But it also offered a ‘Wow!’ factor and the potential to expand our relationships with corporate partners. It will be a first-rate facility in every respect.”

By day the Center will host open enrollment, non-degree, executive education programs and provide training and education spaces for use by corporate and conference clients. During evenings and Saturdays, graduate program courses will occupy most of the space.

Undergraduate business programs will remain at the College of Business building on the UofL Belknap campus in Old Louisville.

For more information, visit the website: www.business.louisville.edu/mba

The Center for Graduate and Executive Education

University of Louisville College of Business

 

Building highlights

• The space is being designed by the same team behind Museum Plaza, including architect of record Kendall Heaton and design consultants REX
  (http://www.rex-ny.com).
• The location combines the energy of the downtown business, cultural and entertainment centers with the sophistication of advanced academic experiences, creating a thriving environment for exceptional business and entrepreneurship programs.
• Students and guests will access the Center from a ground-level Main Street entrance or via a new, elevated plaza on the riverside face of the building. Both entrances also provide access to retail spaces on the first floor and lower level of the building.
• The 40,000 sq. ft. Center will include an atrium reception area, student lounge, computer lab, seminar space and a catering kitchen on its first level (the second floor of the building).
• Floors three through six will include a variety of classroom and event areas: 60-seat tiered classrooms, 40-seat classrooms, three flexible seminar and conference rooms, 17 study/breakout rooms, work rooms, storage space and approximately 35 faculty, staff and administrative offices.
• Because graduate courses are scheduled during evening hours and Saturdays, a variety of 40 and 60-seat classrooms and flexible seminar spaces will be available for corporate and conference use during the business day.
• Parking will be available in several locations, including the new Museum Plaza garage and the adjacent Ali Center and Kentucky Center garages. To accommodate students and faculty for evening classes, the Museum Plaza garage will provide dedicated parking spaces.

The Center for Graduate and Executive Education

University of Louisville College of Business

 

Program highlights

The following graduate programs, their faculty and administrative staffs will relocate to the new Center.

The Professional MBA

The Professional MBA is a new addition to the college’s graduate program offerings. Introduced in the fall ’07, it is a full-time MBA experience in a part-time format designed to produce the next generation of business leadership with global perspectives. An intense two-year, cohort-based program, the Professional MBA replaced the college’s traditional MBA. It is available in evening or Saturday-only formats and includes professional development courses, an international study component and hands-on corporate project experience. The program includes a no-increase tuition guarantee for students who complete the program in two years. Currently there are approximately 100 students enrolled in the Professional MBA and more than 150 completing their degree requirements in the traditional MBA program.

IMBA

IMBA is the MBA for Entrepreneurial Thinking. The UofL program was ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship magazine in 2007 and has enjoyed national and international recognition almost since its inception. The rigorous, two-year, cohort-based program is for professionals interested in leading, creating and growing businesses within their corporate environments as well as developing entirely new business operations. IMBA offers team teaching by faculty with experience at the highest levels and serial entrepreneurial success, networking opportunities with local, national and international business leaders and real-world new venture creation and business plan competition in the UofL New Venture Competition and Moot Corp, the “Super Bowl” of business plan competitions. Currently there are 56 students in the IMBA program.

Master of Accountancy

The Master of Accountancy (MAC) prepares students to pass the CPA exam and begin careers as certified public accountants. Primarily an evening program for part-time or full-time students, the MAC is available in two formats: a traditional program for students with a four-year degree in accounting and the B-MAC, designed for non-accounting business majors. Currently there are 43 students in the program.

Executive Education

Space will be available for companies to conduct their own 'in-house' training programs and meetings, and the college will produce custom programs to meet corporate needs. Open enrollment programs also will be available to the broader business community.