The Big Dig: Rawls College Groundbreaking

Texas Tech University Oct. 9 broke ground on the new Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Building at Flint Avenue near Ninth Street, just west of Dan Law Baseball Field.

The new business administration building will serve as an anchor for a new North Campus Gateway that will be an entrance to the campus from the Marsha Sharp Freeway.

"This new building will be a state-of-the-art, high-tech, 'green' and people-friendly facility which will become a cornerstone of the university," said Allen McInnes, dean of the Rawls College. "The building, along with great students and outstanding faculty, will make the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business an educational leader in both Texas and the U.S. The current building will be renovated and developed into a multipurpose classroom facility for the university's expected growth to 40,000 students by 2020."

The groundbreaking begins construction of the 140,000 square-foot LEED-certified building. The LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based standard to support and certify successful green building design, construction and operations.

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Groundbreaking Technology

The new building also is designed to keep pace with technology. Classrooms will be outfitted for distance learning with ceiling-mounted cameras and video broadcasting capabilities. Lectures will be automatically captured and can be published on the college's Web site before students have time to change classes.

A variety of digital display technologies will be used throughout the space, replacing blackboards in classrooms and equipping other rooms with LCD screens and laptop connections for study sessions and project collaboration.

To keep pace with the increased use of technology, wireless network capabilities as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems will be cutting edge.

According to Donald Clancy, senior associate dean of the Rawls College, construction costs for a traditional computer lab would have added $3 million to the new building's price tag.

In its place, the college plans to build a virtual lab of software tools that will be installed and maintained on the college's server and will be available on the Internet for students and faculty to access from their computers.

The demolition of Thompson and Gaston Halls, begun in the fall of 2008, was the first step in the construction of the Rawls College of Business Building. The demolition included asbestos abatement of the entire facility, utility tunnel abatement and demolition, and restoration of the site. Watch Video.