Smith Entrepreneurs Hall to be dedicated Saturday
Hall designated for business studies, equipped with media
By Emily Baker
Staff Reporter

The newest addition to the TCU campus — the Sarah and Steve Smith Entrepreneurs Hall — is scheduled to be formally dedicated at 10 a.m. Saturday, though the building was opened for use more than a month ago.

Speakers, refreshments, a ribbon cutting ceremony and a tour of the building are planned, said Mark Muller, assistant dean of the M.J. Neeley School of Business.

“The Steve and Sarah Smith Entrepreneurs Hall is primarily a teaching/learning facility,” Muller said. “It is dedicated primarily to classrooms and student team rooms. It also has a student gathering place and cafe. In addition, it houses the Ryffel Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and the MBA Graduate Career Services Center.”

Smith Hall is one of three facilities in the nation that is dedicated entirely to entrepreneurial studies, according to a profile of the building from the Office of Communication.

However, the building was designed to accommodate the needs of all business students, said David Minor, director of the Ryffel Center.

“Hopefully, it will become a gathering place for business students,” Minor said. “The name of the building is a dedication to entrepreneurship. The donor who funded the building is an entrepreneur.”

Sarah and Steve Smith donated $10.5 million toward the construction of the 50,000-square-foot building, which cost $15.5 million, according to the Office of Communication.

Construction began on the building early last year and main construction was completed before the building was opened in February, Muller said. Crews have been putting on the finishing touches for the last six weeks or so, he said.

The building was designed to be state-of-the-art, Muller said. The classrooms are equipped with technology to display multimedia technology such as PowerPoint presentations and DVD’s, Muller said. The classrooms are designed to be multifunctional, Muller said.

“Some rooms are flag with moveable tables and chairs, and some are tiered,” Muller said. “Most hold a maximum of 42 students per room.”

The building also has a conference center designed for meetings, Muller said.

“We have already had some outside business groups come on campus to meet in the new hall,” Muller said.

Senior marketing and management major Carlos Santana Jr. has four classes in Smith Hall and said he is impressed by it.

“I like the building,” Santana said. “There is a big difference in the classrooms. There is more room, and it is more comfortable for the students. The technology in the rooms is really impressive. I think it is a good learning environment.”

Minor said anyone who is interested is invited to attend the dedication.

e.k.baker@tcu.edu