The 1700 South Patterson Building starts a new chapter as a home for graduate classes in education and business.

Beautiful vistas, colorful flags and free food greeted education and business students Monday, Oct. 25 with the start of the first graduate classes in the University of Dayton's newest educational facility, 1700 South Patterson Building, the former NCR World Headquarters.

Students saw renovated classrooms, updated with new audio-visual tools for learning; plentiful convenient parking; as well as comfortable study areas and team-learning spaces, said Paul Vanderburgh, associate provost and dean of graduate, professional and continuing education.

"The new classroom space will provide tremendous convenience and learning space for graduate students," Vanderburgh said. "It is a spacious facility in a beautiful, wooded setting, and it will give us the opportunity to expand learning opportunities for graduate students and all of our adult learners."

This semester, the first wave of 33 sections of evening graduate classes will move into seven classrooms in about 22,000 square feet on the second floor. Additional courses will move to the building when the next semester starts in January.

Vanderburgh said in addition to classrooms and meeting spaces, students will have access to limited food service, wireless connections, scheduling advisement and other graduate student services. Other support services, including satellite offices of the bookstore, library and admissions eventually will be available there, he said.

Lounge and study areas as well as several classrooms look out over the flag-adorned entrance to the building, to the Deeds Carillon and the Great Miami River.

Dining Services also welcomed students with free samples of wraps, cookies and other items that will be available in the Riverview Café, with a dining area graced by tall, expansive windows and a view of the property's autumn woods.

Administrative offices for the Center for Leadership & Executive Development and the Office of Special Programs and Continuing Education, including the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, moved into the building last week and expect to offer programs next year in the facility.

The graduate classes join research functions, including the Center for Competitive Change and four research groups from the Research Institute, which moved into the building in September.

During the next 18 months, the Research Institute will gradually transfer additional operations to the building, creating a highly visible home for the University's rapidly growing sponsored research portfolio that is approaching $100 million annually.

The University of Dayton bought NCR's former world headquarters and 115 acres of land in December as a highly visible home for its world-class Research Institute, graduate classes and a proposed Alumni Center.