With oversized, gold-handled scissors, Chancellor Michael Martin and other prominent community members cut the ribbon to the new Business Education Complex on Friday.
Tiger spirit abounded in the sunny unveiling of the BEC — the product of the largest public/private partnership in the University’s history — which has been about 14 years in the making.
The BEC is a standalone structure specifically for the E.J. Ourso College of Business. The business college currently shares Patrick F. Taylor Hall with the College of Engineering but will begin offering classes in the BEC this fall.
Keynote speaker Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, emphasized the value of human ingenuity. Because the project was funded during tough economic times, Forbes said the opening illustrates the University’s priorities.
“You recognize the importance of the mind, not resources. Minds make resources,” Forbes said. “And this is a good day for Louisiana — not just for LSU, for Louisiana. The mind is supreme. We’re going to develop it.”
Forbes said the BEC’s completion sends a message to outsiders that Louisiana is a place for flourishing business.
“The opening tells the world that, as never before, LSU is open for business,” Forbes said.
The BEC was the cornerstone project of the Forever LSU campaign, which collected more than $750 million from private donors — a feat previously thought to be laughable and unfathomable, former Chancellor Sean O’Keefe said at the ceremony.
But despite the huge donations collected, the facility’s funding is not yet complete.
Bill Slaughter, president of SSA Consultants and co-chairman of the LSU Business Building Oversight Committee, said about $7.5 million is still needed to finish the job.
Slaughter is requesting additional donations, and a list of “naming opportunities” is offered inside the auditorium building.
The BEC can be named after a donor who contributes $15 million, according to the list.
E.J. Ourso College of Business Dean Eli Jones emceed the event, and though he will no longer be affiliated with the University because of his new position at the University of Arkansas, he said it’s time to bring new faculty to “complete the job.”
Jones did not address his move to Arkansas, though Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater broke the ice with a jab about the LSU/Arkansas football rivalry.
Finance sophomore Nick Geymann said he’s “a little concerned” about Jones’ untimely departure, but he hopes for the swift arrival of another involved, qualified dean.
Geymann said the BEC’s modern design is amazing, and he’s looking forward to moving out of the shared space of Patrick F. Taylor Hall.
 
____
Contact Emily Herrington at [email protected]