Eli Jones rolled the more than six-inch thick master plan onto a table and showed off the school’s design for a new 156,000 square-foot building. The only problem is the E. J. Ourso College of Business is short $13.1 million to provide half the funds for the $60 million dollar education complex scheduled to be finished in 2010. The college has until June 30 to collect the money for the state to match the funds with $30 million to build the complex. “We have a list of potential donors, and we are contacting them every minute it seems,” said Jones, business college dean. “Everyone understands the need for this new business education complex.” Space is limited for the business college, and the school doesn’t have the latest technology to teach efficiently, Jones said. “We must take advantage of this opportunity to significantly move the college forward,” said Chancellor Michael Martin in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille. “The chance to do so may not come again for many years.” The University has commitments from donors and the state for the construction of the new building, Martin said. Karen Deville, business school senior director of advancement, said the fundraising has focused on the 35,000 business alumni, and members of the team have traveled the country looking for new donors. For about 20 years, the University knew the business college needed a new building, and they began formulated a master plan, Deville said. The college of business moved into Patrick F. Taylor Hall around 1987 and had to share space with the College of Engineering. “By the time we moved in, we had basically outgrown the building,” Deville said. The College of Engineering has different needs from the business school, she said. Faculty needs room for labs, and there just isn’t enough room.”We are using less than 25 percent of the space in the building,” Jones said.The new complex will give the business college the chance to grow and give the engineering department room for new technology, Jones said. The dean described the complex as having two wings — a side for graduate students and an undergraduate side with a courtyard in the center. Across from the wings on one side is a 300-seat auditorium, and on the opposite side is a three-story atrium.  “The undergraduate wing is close to the rest of campus that will accommodate undergraduate students,” Deville said. Deville compared the three-story building to the union with a cafe and tables for students to work. “When you come in the South gates at LSU and turn left onto Nicholson Extension, there will be this wonderful iconic presence,” Deville said. The $60 million project will also include the latest technology for the college, Jones said. He showed pictures of the new projectors and web cameras to help further student education. “Today the way we teach is more along the lines of engaged learning,” Jones said. “It’s a lot of student interaction.” —-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]