MORGANTOWN — WVU will hold a grand opening for the new Reynolds Hall on Friday.
Built on the site of the old Stansbury Hall, Reynolds will be the new home of the John Chambers College of Business and Economics. It is more than 186,000 square feet — twice the size of the current business school building — and jumpstarted through a $10 million gift by Bob and Laura Reynolds.
Bob Reynolds is president and CEO of Putnam Investments, which WVU’s Business Magazine terms one of the oldest mutual fund companies in the U.S.
The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. with a ribbon cutting out front. Attendees will then move inside for comments by Bob Reynolds, WVU President Gordon Gee, Chambers College Dean Josh Hall, WVU Foundation President Cindi Roth and Chambers Peer Ambassador Alexsa Ruiz.
An open house will follow from 4:30-6, with faculty and staff leaders will act as hosts and describe the functions of Reynolds’ experiential learning labs and student resource spaces.
Legislators toured the still-in-progress building during May interims. Hall said at the time, “We know we can’t just keep up with the times. We have to be drivers of change.” The building — an overall $100 million project — reflects that commitment to fueling economic progress and was built without taxpayer dollars.
Legislators and other visitors in May understood they weren’t in a traditional college building when they walked in the front door. Straight ahead, the Holyman Social Stairwell — dotted with couches — swoops up, and the giant digital ticker tape is visible just outside the Roll Capital Markets Center.
To the left is an airy lobby and, suspended atop a single central pillar, is the angular, futuristic Hayhurst Ideation Hub — a space for the cultivation and sharing of ideas.
As an economist, Hall said in May that he hates waste and the planning for the whole structure reflects that: Every space is designed to be used; even the auditorium will hold classes five days a week. “This is going to be a place our students are going to live and we have the ability to let them do so.”
TWEET David Beard @dbeardtdp
EMAIL dbeard@dominionpost.com
