N. Eldon Tanner Building Addition

Completed nearly twenty-five years ago, the beautiful N. Eldon Tanner Building has seen more than thirty-five thousand students pass through its glass doors, study in its tiered classrooms, and exchange ideas under the roof of its seven-story atrium. Home to the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott School of Management, this unique glass and granite building has been a wonderfully versatile and inspiring place for students studying business and public management.

Notwithstanding the tremendous service the Tanner Building has and will continue to provide, the demands for business education have simply outstripped supply. “We’re bulging at the seams,” says Dean Ned Hill. “In response to student demands, we have over the years increased the size of several of our programs, and now there just aren’t enough classrooms, places to study, or offices to accommodate our students and faculty.”

When the building was completed in January 1983, the school of management enrolled 1,800 full-time students. Now the school has almost 2,700 full-time undergraduate and graduate students and an additional 650 students earning business minors.

“We turn away hundreds of students each year because we simply can’t accommodate them,” explains Joan Young, director of the school’s undergraduate programs. “Most of these students have done very well in their general education and prerequisite classes, but we don’t have the resources to teach them. This is one of the reasons our minor has steadily grown and become so popular.”

In response to this growing demand and with the generous financial support from the Marriott family foundation and the school’s National Advisory Council, the BYU Board of Trustees approved plans on 11 April 2007 to build a major addition to the Tanner Building.

The addition will be a four-story, approximately 76,000-square-foot structure built directly west of the existing building and connected by an atrium with sky bridges on the second, third, and fourth floors. The new building will add about 50 percent more space and will include: tiered case rooms, flat classrooms, team study areas, open study areas, MBA program offices, faculty offices, conference rooms, and a New York-style deli.

Construction plans also call for a three-level, open-air parking structure to be built directly north of the existing building. This parking terrace will accommodate approximately two hundred vehicles—increasing the capacity of the existing lot by about one-third.

The cost of the Tanner Building Addition, the parking structure, a maintenance endowment, and limited remodeling to the existing building is estimated at $43 million. The Marriott family and the school’s National Advisory Council have taken the lead in raising the lion’s share of the money needed. The approximately $38 million raised to date began with a generous gift of $18 million from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. An additional $20 million has come from NAC members, friends of the school, faculty, and staff. The NAC, which has driven the fundraising effort, consists of about 175 senior executives and company owners from around the world.

Approximately $5 million must still be raised to furnish the building, complete the maintenance endowment, and pay for the parking structure.

The Tanner Building Addition is not only a distinctive opportunity to expand the Marriott School’s infrastructure but also a chance to enhance, engage, and enlighten students for decades to come.

EXPAND

Adding more teaching and study space will give the school more resources to expand programs such as the flagship MBA program and highly ranked master of accountancy program. It will also provide much-needed space for the burgeoning undergraduate programs and business minor.

“The Marriott School is one of the crown jewels of BYU. Nearly one-quarter of all students take business courses at some time during their stay on campus. Our management school provides a top-tier education that is grounded in the principles of the restored gospel. It also produces about half of all master’s degrees awarded by the university. Expanding the Tanner Building is a measured step forward to ensure the school’s continued success.”

—Cecil O. Samuelson, BYU President

ENHANCE

Adding high-tech teaching rooms and equipping study areas with power and Internet access will enhance the student learning environment. Teaching areas have been meticulously planned. Every desk will have power, and every seat will offer an excellent view of screens and whiteboards. A few key rooms will also be fitted for digital video recording.

“Knowledge and learning are rooted in supportive people, things, and spaces. Technology is not a substitute for teaching and thinking, but it can extend our reach and makes us smarter. A classroom is much more than a seating arrangement—it is an organization of a collective mind, bent toward discoveries and possibilities.”

—Curtis D. LeBaron, Associate Professor, Organizational Leadership and Strategy

ENGAGE

Adding team study rooms, graduate student lounges, and quiet study areas will create spaces where students can engage each other in discussions, build camaraderie, and augment classroom learning. Teaching, study, and open spaces have all been carefully designed to increase student interactions with each other and with faculty.

“Perhaps the greatest learning that takes place at this inspired institution happens outside the classrooms among peers. Countless hours are spent each week with teammates who become like family—sharing perspectives, contributing talents, and ensuring success.”

—Shiloh Roan, 2006 Student Council President and MBA graduate

ENLIGHTEN

Adding to the N. Eldon Tanner Building will give us increased capacity to enlighten the minds and sharpen the intellects of more students. These students in turn become capable leaders who cast their influence throughout the world. Speaking to students more than eighty years ago, BYU President Franklin S. Harris said, “Behold the greatest university campus in all the world—in embryo. More students will come, the faculty will be enlarged, new colleges will be added, and there is no end to the improvements which can be made. Truly the campus is the setting of what will undoubtedly be the greatest university in the world, a place to train for leaders.”

“Recruiters find Brigham Young produces an especially valuable type of graduate these days: the ethical accountant. Brigham Young, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is considered one of the best schools for hiring students with high ethical standards.”

—The Wall Street Journal

the four-story tanner building addition will include:

• 76,000 square feet
• 37 student team study rooms
• 22 faculty/administrative offices
• 10 case rooms
• 4 conference rooms
• 4 open study areas
• 2 graduate student lounges
• 2 institute offices
• 1 MBA program office suite
• 1 large lecture hall/divisible classroom
• 1 network teaching room
• 1 board room
• 1 New York-style deli with eating area

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Article written by Joseph Ogden