The University of Dayton received a historic $15 million gift from an anonymous donor to support construction of a new academic building for the School of Business Administration (SBA).
The gift caps the "silent" phase of the SBA building campaign, allowing the "public" phase to proceed, which will give all members and friends of the SBA community a chance to participate in this future-defining project.
The planned four-story, 153,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility will be the new home for business education at UD. It will bring together signature centers, high-quality academic space, and student-focused amenities designed to prepare future business leaders, while doubling the amount of space dedicated to experiential learning, classrooms and collaboration spaces, and tripling the amount of open study areas.
"This gift is a profound investment in the future of the University of Dayton and in the students we educate," said Eric F. Spina, president of the University of Dayton. "We are deeply grateful to this thoughtful and generous donor, whose vision reflects the very best of the UD community. Their support will leave a lasting, visible impact on generations of students, faculty, alumni and partners."
The new building will house and allow for expansion of nationally renowned programs and centers, including the Davis Center for Portfolio Management, Flyer Enterprises and Flyer Consulting corporate headquarters; a laboratory for professional selling; and a combined office suite for student services, including the John D. Mittelstaedt Center for Academic Advising and Business Student Success; and the graduate business programs office.
"This is a defining moment for the School of Business Administration," said Trevor Collier, the school's dean. "With this new facility, we will dramatically expand our capacity to contribute to the University's experiential learning guarantee, create new opportunities for professional development and deepen our partnerships with the business community, delivering a student experience that is second to none. The University of Dayton has always produced leaders who make a difference. This building will ensure that legacy grows."
The location of the new building will be adjacent to Kettering Labs, enhancing the eastern entrance of the University and supporting collaboration between the School of Business Administration and the School of Engineering, which includes current efforts in sales and entrepreneurship and venture creation, as well as future opportunities related to AI, analytics and more.
In addition to academic and program space, the facility will include an event space, student-run coffee shop, conference and meeting rooms, a student lounge and an employee lounge.
This project was made possible not only by the historic $15 million gift, but because 10 additional visionary donors stepped forward with gifts ranging from $1 million to $10 million each, alongside dozens of generous supporters who helped lay the foundation during the silent fundraising phase.
The public phase of the SBA building campaign aims to raise the final $5 million before construction starts, with optimism that groundbreaking can occur as early as spring 2027.
"These gifts and others that follow will help shape a learning environment that matches the ambition and promise of our students," said Darlene Weaver, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs. "A state-of-the-art facility will support cutting-edge education while advancing the University's Catholic and Marianist mission to help students learn, lead and serve for the common good."