Huntsman School of Business breaks ground for new $42 million building at USU

LOGAN – Jon M. Huntsman, Sr., helped break ground on Aug. 26 for Huntsman Hall, a new state-of-the-art $42 million business building that will be named for him on the Utah State University campus. He said the new building will be a place where integrity and ethics are emphasized.

Supporters and university officials break ground for Huntsman Hall: (L-R) Gary Stevenson, presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Douglas Fiefia, ASUSU president, Jeffrey D. Clark, the founder of J.D. Clark & Company, Karen Huntsman, Jon M. Huntsman, Sr., Stan Albrecht, USU president; Douglas D. Anderson, dean of the Huntsman School of Business and Noelle E. Cockett, USU Provost, Logan, Utah, Aug. 26, 2013 | Photo courtesy of Utah State University
Supporters and university officials break ground for Huntsman Hall: (L-R) Gary Stevenson, presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Douglas Fiefia, ASUSU president, Jeffrey D. Clark, the founder of J.D. Clark & Company, Karen Huntsman, Jon M. Huntsman, Sr., Stan Albrecht, USU president; Douglas D. Anderson, dean of the Huntsman School of Business and Noelle E. Cockett, USU Provost, Logan, Utah, Aug. 26, 2013 | Photo courtesy of Utah State University

Huntsman, his wife Karen and a number of other dignitaries were at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the 117,000-square-foot addition that will wrap around the south and west sides of the George S. Eccles Business Building.

Huntsman was the lead donor for the new building, which is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2015. The building will be designed to encourage collaboration, teamwork and exploration in business education and will feature 21 classrooms and 21 meeting rooms.

Huntsman Hall will include several centers focused on entrepreneurship, leadership and international business, according to school officials. Two-thirds of the building’s funding comes from private donors and one-third from State of Utah sources.

Huntsman spoke at the event along with Jeffrey D. Clark, the founder of J.D. Clark & Company, who also was a major contributor to the building.

USU Dean Douglas D. Anderson described early design deliberations when funding challenges forced school officials to consider scaling back the facility. Clark argued in favor of the larger structure that would be needed to meet the needs of future generations, asking them to “go big or go home.”

“Jeff drove us to believe in our dream that we could have a classroom building second to none,”Anderson said, “where faculty and students could work collaboratively to create entrepreneurial opportunities.”

Anderson said that without the support of the Huntsman and Clark families, “this day would not be possible.”

Clark credited the leadership of Huntsman, USU President Stan Albrecht and Anderson with making the building a reality.

“There’s great leadership here, and this couldn’t happen without great leadership. To me it is all about leadership,” he said. “So when I went before our advisory board and said, ‘Go big or go home,’ I knew that we had the leadership to accomplish what needed to be accomplished.”

Huntsman, who has had a hand in supporting and establishing a number of other business schools, said, “This business school stands above any other business school in America and throughout the world. You may just think I’m talking that way, but I really, truly believe it.”

Huntsman praised the role Anderson has played at the university and Albrecht’s leadership. He said the building would influence and train “honorable and respected executives in the global industry of tomorrow.”

“Above and beyond one’s study of economics, business and finance, may our Huntsman students resolve that the greatest experience for the human heart will be to reach down and lift up another individual who may be struggling,” Huntsman said.

Albrecht said the construction of the new building launches “a new era,” calling Huntsman Hall “a beautiful state-of-the-art building that will assist us as we move to an even higher level of achievement.”

Led by Craig D. Jessop, the Utah Festival Chorus sang “God Bless America” before the ceremonial “shovels in the dirt” that ended the groundbreaking event.

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University seeks to inspire and equip students to become innovative, ethical leaders with refined analytical skills that will help them understand and succeed in the global marketplace. It is one of eight colleges at USU, located in Logan. More information can be found here.

Submitted by: Utah State University

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Copyright St. George News, StGeorgeUtah.com Inc., 2013, all rights reserved.

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