A look back at the first year in Capitol Federal Hall
The KU School of Business moved into its new home from Summerfield Hall in May of 2016. Here’s a look back at major events that we’ve hosted and opportunities that have emerged because of Capitol Federal Hall.
Over the past year, the KU School of Business has had the honor of calling Capitol Federal Hall its new home.
The four-story, 166,500-square-foot building has been the site of a wide range of events that have allowed students, faculty, alumni and members of the regional business community to come together and learn from industry leaders.
During the 2016–17 academic year, approximately 90 School of Business-related events were held at Capitol Federal Hall, with an additional 34 non-business school events hosted in the building.
The building also introduced new opportunities for students, including the Business Communication Center, a space dedicated to helping undergraduates become clear, concise and thoughtful writers and speakers. Capitol Federal Hall was designed with the student experience in mind, and business students were eager to utilize the building’s many other student-focused areas for studying and collaboration.
The building is the largest at KU to be funded through private support, and we are grateful to the donors who made the building possible.
Since the building opened, we have said goodbye to our former home of 56 years and celebrated the start of a new chapter for our school.
Faculty and staff shared their memorable Summerfield stories in a “Goodbye, Summerfield” video.
Neeli Bendapudi, who had served as dean of the School of Business since 2011, was named provost and executive vice chancellor of KU at the end of the 2015–16 academic year. Business faculty and staff members shared their thanks for her leadership and memories as she made the transition to her to new role.
In early June 2016, Jim Guthrie, associate dean of academic affairs and professor, was named interim dean of the School of Business.
L. Paige Fields was named Henry D. Price Professor and Dean of the KU School of Business in May 2017. After more than 20 years in Texas, where she held a variety of academic roles at Texas A&M University and most recently served as Dean of the School of Business at Trinity University in San Antonio, Fields began her tenure at KU on July 1, 2017.
As we continue building on the successes and excitement of the past year, please enjoy a look back at our first year in Capitol Federal Hall.
We’ve seen excitement from our students, faculty, staff and alumni about Cap Fed Hall.
See more posts in our collection on Storify:
We’ve been able to host conferences, lectures and other various events that in previous years had to be held at other venues.
We’ve showcased faculty research and student experiences in the building.
In August, John A. Byrne, editor-in-chief of Poets & Quants, visited the KU School of Business for one of his “campus deep-dive” features. His visit included a tour of the school’s new home and a discussion with then-second-year MBA students Swathi Shenoy, Cristina Brown and Colin Thomas, as well as KU Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Neeli Bendapudi.
We’ve celebrated holidays and invited alumni and the KU community to enjoy the building.
We have had a front-row seat to wonderful views around the building of the changing seasons.
We created new ways to explore and interact with Cap Fed Hall.
Capitol Federal Hall includes a dedicated space to help undergraduates become clear, concise and thoughtful writers and speakers: the Business Communication Center (BCC).
The plan for the center came after the school reformed its curriculum in an effort to produce graduates who can clearly articulate ideas in the workplace.
The business school’s very own artificial intelligence, AL, launched in the spring 2015 semester. Students, faculty and staff can ask questions about the building or the School of Business via AL at KU, a free app available for Apple and Android devices. AL responds through the app and periodically on the video wall in Anderson Family Atrium.
We’ve featured artwork created by artists with ties to KU and to Kansas throughout the building.
Thanks to a gift to support art in the new building, more than 80 works adorn the hallways and public spaces throughout Capitol Federal Hall, accentuating the building’s innovative and collaborative design.
One of the most prominent pieces in the building is the Spencer Museum of Art’s “Wall Drawing 519” by Sol LeWitt, which faces Capitol Federal Hall’s central atrium and can be seen from Naismith Drive. The installation previously was on view at the Spencer Museum before the building closed for renovation in spring of 2015.
The building has won awards.
Our new home continues to earn national attention for its innovative design.
- First place in Engineering News-Record Mountain States’ list of Best Projects, Higher Ed/Research Category
- Received media mentions in MidCoast Design Record, Interior Design magazine, Dezeen magazine, Architect magazine, ArchDaily, Digital Signage Connection
- Named among Interior Design magazine’s “8 Simply Amazing University Buildings”
The School of Business also was recognized with a 2017 Sustainability Leadership Award, along with Frank Cabano, a doctoral student in marketing.
