First up for University of California, Irvine, next year: a start to construction for the new home of its Paul Merage School of Business, a $50 million project with backing from Orange County’s business community.
Groundbreaking for the 78,250-square-foot, five-floor structure is set for Jan. 9, with completion expected in 2014.
The project is a capper for Andy Policano’s nine-year tenure as dean of UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School. Policano is set to step away from the dean’s post in July, remaining as faculty director of UCI’s Center for Investment and Wealth Management.
“We’re very excited about this building,” Policano said. “It was the only building plan approved by the state Legislature a year-and- a-half ago. We had to convince the folks that this was an important building. We had really good support.”
The state put up $40 million for the project, and the private sector has pledged another $7 million with the balance expected to roll in soon.
“These are terrific gifts,” Policano said. “We won’t have problems. It’s a matter of time.”
Among the prominent corporate donors so far: Costa Mesa-based Experian North America, Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co. in Irvine and Wells Fargo Foundation. Charles and Twyla Martin, and Ed Fuller, have made donations as individuals, and family foundations including the Beall Family Foundation also have contributed.
The new Merage school building will serve undergraduate and MBA programs, and will feature a 300-person auditorium, as well as a number of UCI’s Centers of Excellence—think-tank networks connecting industry leaders and students. It also will hold an instructional securities-trading floor, funded by a $500,000 pledge from financial services firm Charles Schwab & Co.
Boost
The building is seen as a boost for the local talent pool.
“We recruit top talent from top universities such as UCI,” said Ben Alvarado, OC community banking president for Wells Fargo. “A new and modern business school is a message to the industry that graduates will be trained well.”
Policano said he expects the new building—which is 76% larger in overall size than the existing building—to provide ample room for students to engage in group work more effectively.
“We had nothing that would fit all these folks,” the Merage School dean said. “Teamwork is a big feature we have in the business school. We split up into small groups, but we were always scrounging around for space. Now, you’ll see the students in groups all over the lawn or reserve big rooms in this building.”
He said the building will be made available for a range of community activities.
“By community, I mean everybody, not just business people, including a lot of nonprofit organizations and social responsibility initiatives,” Policano said. “We do about 30 events every year, with 5,000 folks attending these events. Right now, there’s little capacity to do that on the campus. The building will provide a wonderful opportunity to bring OC into the campus.”
“Icing” on Cake
The latest building initiative is “icing on the cake” for Policano.
“It really completes my tenure,” he said. “When I arrived here, I said, ‘No more than 10 years.’ I do believe change in leadership is very, very important. At this point, it will be good to have someone who comes in with a whole set of new ideas, someone who’s a little bit more naïve than I am. I know all about things that can’t be done.”
Policano will continue serving UCI in other capacities, including teaching.
“I love teaching,” he said. “I haven’t been able to teach while being dean. I’ll go back to that. Also, I’m doing research … on what happens when our population is aging. The luxury of focus is what I’m looking forward to.”
