The Ivey family has reaffirmed its support for the business school bearing its name – this time in the form of $8.5-million donation towards a new $100-million home for the Richard Ivey School of Business.
Richard Ivey School of Business Dean Carol Stephenson shares a moment with Richard (Dick) Ivey at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new building to house the Ivey School of Business. Ivey surprised many in attendance with a donation of $8.5 million, bringing the Ivey family’s long-standing commitment to the school to more than $28 million.
The donation, along with a $6.5-million donation from the family in 2007, is comprised of $5 million for the new building; $3 million to establish a program to match unrestricted endowed gifts; $1 million for initiatives in corporate social responsibility; $1.5 million for the Lawrence G. Tapp Chair in Leadership and $4.5 million as a bequest from Richard Ivey.
While preliminary work has been underway, heavy construction is expected to begin next week.
The school’s highly regarded undergraduate program has grown 40 per cent over the past three years and is expected to double in size by 2013. The PhD program has tripled in size over the last decade.
The new 234,000-square-foot, three-storey facility finally brings all Ivey programs under one roof.
Richard Ivey took part in last week’s groundbreaking ceremony for the facility, which will be built on the west side of Western Road in front of Brescia University College.
The structure will become the second Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified (LEED) building on campus, a designation that recognizes a high commitment to sustainability in the design and construction process.
With features such as rainwater collection for irrigation and toilet flushing, geothermal heating and cooling, solar hot water and photo-voltaics and heat-recovery systems, the new Ivey building will be a leader in efficiency.
“We are delighted to contribute to this project and to enhance the experience of Ivey students,” says Ivey, adding his father (Richard G.) would have “been thrilled to see the success of the school today.
“The Ivey family has been incredibly generous and consistent in their support for Western and for our Richard Ivey School of Business,” says Western President Amit Chakma. “This donation, like others from the family, will have an enormous impact on our ability to ensure that Western remains a leader in research and education.”
Also announcing financial contributions at the ceremony were Ivey graduates John Love and Arkadi Kuhlmann, who donated $2 million and $1 million respectively.
Love, chair of the new building’s task force, is thrilled to support the school’s growth.
“This will definitely help us to compete for the best students and faculty, and keep Ivey on top as the best business school out there,” says Love.
To date, $82.7 million of the $100-million goal has been reached.
The federal and provincial governments are contributing $25 million in infrastructure support, Western is committing $22.5 million for the current Ivey building which will be converted for other academic needs, and the Ivey campaign has raised $10.2 million of its $27.5-million target.
FACT BOX
A look at the new building
Size: 234,000 sq. ft.
Materials: Cut Stone, Glass, Split face rubble stone, Copper, Walnut wood
Budget: $100 million
Occupancy: March 2011
Style: The design takes the form of a three-storey quadrangle building and will continue with Western’s collegiate gothic architecture theme.
Classrooms: The classrooms will anchor the outer perimeter of the building.
Extras: Special elements include a dining hall, library and amphitheatre.
LEED features:
* Direct low west sunlight to be mitigated through external ?ns. The southern and western exposures are equipped with exterior shading louvers on the windows to reduce transmitted solar energy in the classrooms and offices.
* The roof embraces the courtyard and slopes inward to collect rainwater. Filtered rainwater will be the source for the re?ecting pool within the courtyard.
* Re?ecting pools will be used for evaporative cooling to temper outdoor air prior to being supplied to the air handling systems.
* Over?ow rainwater will be collected in an underground cistern and used for ?ushing toilets and urinals as well as landscape irrigation.
* The sun will be used in a simple solar hot water system, providing domestic hot water.
Hybrid photovoltaic-thermal solar collectors (they generate electricity and heat water with waste heat) could be considered on a smaller scale as an exhibition of sustainability.
* The atrium and the large volumes of the classrooms are designed with energy recovery ventilation.
* The large site can accommodate earth tubes, which take advantage of the relatively constant temperature of the ground below the frost line to precondition outdoor air fed to building air handling units. With this feature, and positioning of many air-handling units in the basement, the need for roof-mounted air-handling units and/or penthouse mechanical rooms can be reduced.
* The high-efficiency masonry and glass skin changes according to orientation, incorporating solar shading and operable windows.
