University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 5, No. 1/1995 Recognition: A Special Report New, Enhanced Home Promises More Productive Environment for College of Business and Economics By the fall 1997, a new building for the College of Business and Economics will be built. While waiting for a meeting or class to begin, visitors and students will be able to relax beside the building's centerpiece-a three-story, glass-walled atrium with skylights. The new building also will feature formal conference rooms, administrative offices, four case-study classrooms and a second-story bridge to Purnell Hall, reports Associate Dean Jeff Gillespie. Construction of the 45,000-square-foot building, to be located at the intersection of Amstel Avenue and Orchard Road, will begin by June 1996. By the time the new building is completed, Purnell Hall also will be completely refurbished. To be christened MBNA America Hall in recognition of a $2.5 million gift from the financial services giant, the new building will feature spacious, centrally located office suites for all B&E centers, including the Small Business Development Center and the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship, reports Dean Kenneth R. Biederman. "Right now, the MBA offices and our various centers are squirreled away throughout Purnell Hall," he notes. "We're going to make these service-oriented offices more accessible and more accommodating to the public." MBNA America's gift is contingent upon $11 million in state funding. The remaining $1.5 million for the $15 million building is being covered by other private sources, including $1 million from benefactor Chaplin Tyler of Hockessin, and $150,000 from J.P. Morgan Bank. The University is still seeking $350,000 in private funding for the project. For more information, contact William Stout in the development office at (302) 831-2104, or Dean Biederman at (302) 831-1211.