Stepping Forward

Haslam's Growth Exemplified In New Business Building

The Haslam College of Business has grown dramatically over the past decade. Undergraduate enrollment soared. Additional graduate programs have launched and enrollment in existing programs has expanded. The college hired dozens of new faculty and staff members to support new students and programs. To sustain this growth and support the number of students passing through the college’s doors, in 2023, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, prioritized the growing need for an additional business school building.

Amy Cathey, Haslam’s associate dean for Graduate and Executive Education (GEE), says the project is a natural response to the college’s expansion. “The growth is challenging our facilities right now. We are working very hard to deliver an incredible experience, and the new building will make a big difference in helping us do that.”

Progress Across the College

The numbers show incredible expansion—a 35 percent growth in master’s program enrollment since 2018, with new online offerings leading the way. Undergraduate enrollment saw a 117.2 percent growth over the past decade, climbing from just over 3,800 students in 2013 to more than 8,200 in 2023.

A senior studying accounting and finance, Carter Kelly sees the popularity of business programs as a reflection of their diversity. “There are so many different directions you can go, from more conceptual to technical,” he says. “You can apply a business major to so many different jobs.”

Stephen L. Mangum, dean and Stokely Foundation Leadership Chair, believes the lack of physical space has become a constraint to the college’s development. “We’re bringing in more—and better-prepared—students than ever before, and we’ve expanded our faculty and staff hiring to accommodate the student body. This building will open new frontiers and allow us to continue that positive momentum.”

Higher student retention rates have contributed to Haslam’s enrollment growth, explains Lane Morris, associate dean of undergraduate studies and student affairs and the John W. Fisher Professor of Innovative Learning. “Great facilities make a big difference in retention, so we’re looking forward to a new space that is filled with vitality and energy.”

New Building Location and Priorities

Situated across Volunteer Boulevard from the existing Haslam Business Building and Stokely Management Center, the new structure will sit where Dunford, Henson, and Greve Halls currently stand. The nearby Tyson Alumni Center will be preserved, along with its accompanying trees and green space. The 240,000-square-foot, five-story building will house classrooms, research laboratories, graduate and executive education facilities, centers, meeting spaces, offices, food service, and common areas.

Chad Autry, associate dean of faculty and research, Myers Distinguished Professor, and R. Stanley Bowden II Faculty Research Fellow, notes the need for meeting areas and common spaces where people can gather organically.

More interaction is happening outside the classrooms,” says Autry. “The new building will offer several spaces called ‘cluster classrooms’ where smaller groups can work together, such as a faculty member meeting with students or students gathering to work on team projects.”

Haslam’s growing force as a research institution also requires adequate space. For the first time in the college’s history, the new building will provide students and faculty with dedicated laboratories for business-related research.

The plans for the new structure also include 18 classrooms, two of which will be 300-seat auditoriums. The Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEI) also will find a new home, along with additional research space, on the building’s first floor. With the added space, ACEI leaders hope to consolidate some of their activities, such as the business incubator and accelerator, moving them back from the UT Institute of Agriculture campus. The new location on the first floor will give the ACEI higher visibility and more foot traffic as students pass through the commons area.

On the second level, the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research will have its own wing near research labs and cluster classrooms. The two faculty floors above will house offices and collaboration spaces, along with future outdoor terraces that everyone can enjoy.

The top floor will be dedicated to GEE programs, with offices, classrooms, and breakout rooms. “It’s a beautiful space that will offer excellent opportunities for applied learning,” Cathey explains. “We have some of the best faculty and are thrilled they will have innovative and exciting spaces to continue teaching as our program offerings grow.”

By The Numbers