KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday to officially start construction on a new building for the Haslam College of Business.
The project is meant to expand the college and accommodate its growing number of students and faculty, according to a release from UT. It said over the last decade, undergraduate enrollment in the business college has grown from around 3,800 students to more than 9,000 students. It also said master's program enrollment has grown by around 35% over the last five years.
The new building is expected to open in the fall of 2027. It is also expected to serve more than 10,000 students, faculty, staff and guests every week. It will be five stories tall and have 18 classrooms, three research laboratories and two 300-seat auditoriums. There will also be meeting spaces and food service spaces, along with offices and common areas.
The release said the building will house the college's seven academic departments and its graduate and executive education programs. Until the building's construction is complete, the college will continue classes in its current building.
Previously, the university said Henson Hall, Greve Hall and Dunford Hall would be demolished so the new business college building could be built. In May 2024, the College of Social Work bid farewell to Henson Hall and said it did not immediately know where it would be relocated. Since 1982, the college had been located inside the hall.
A group of students, professors and faculty gathered to protest and voice their concerns about the demolition in December 2022. The group said they had concerns the campus had limited space for the university's growing enrollment.
