Can Business School be to Corporate?

Recently Yale University’s School of Management unveiled their new business school building, Edward P. Evans Hall, on their New Haven campus to mixed reviews from alumni. The massive glass building cost over $250 million and has revolutionized the way business is taught at Yale. It consists of four million pounds of steel, 16.2 million pounds of concrete, three million pounds of glass for the exterior façade, 123 miles of copper wire, and 500 doors! Like most of their peer schools, the building also features all of the expected accoutrements of a modern business school. Things like technology heavy classrooms that allow teachers and students to use the latest and greatest tech to improve the learning process. Comfortable seating areas sprinkled throughout the building that gives students a chance to mingle with professors and fellow students. Other key features include the 350-seat Zhang Auditorium, the Ross Library, a dining commons and coffee shop, 16 state-of-the-art classrooms, a student gym, and the Beinecke Terrace Room, a lecture hall/entertainment space with an outdoor terrace providing views of landscaped gardens in the rear of the campus. And of course it meets all of the latest green building standards.
It would be hard to argue that the business school building isn’t a truly impressive addition to the campus. However, not everyone is happy with what the new building symbolizes. In a recent Wall St. Journal story, many alumni were displeased with the fact that the building looks like any other modern office building. That it takes away from some of the uniqueness of Yale School of Management where classes were previously taught in old mansions in front of fireplaces. One student noted that “A big, fancy, new, shiny, modern building attracts different students than cozy houses.” Matt Baer, a 2012 graduate who works in health-care consulting added that the new building evoke “a big building in Manhattan or offices of a global consulting firm.” Another graduate of Yale talked about missing the old days when the school was more quirky and untraditional compared to their peer business schools.
Unfortunately, business schools, like all college departments, are caught up in a bit of an arms race. Schools see that students are attracted to the latest and greatest in facilities. More so than they might even be attracted by things like the curriculum. Therefore, schools need to continually invest in their facilities in order to keep up with student demands. Is this a good thing for students though? Personally, I would like to see more money invested in trying to keep tuition costs low, or bigger investments in student programming. Obviously some investments need to be made in facilities to make sure the school can support the right kind of technology, but it seems that there might be an argument for schools to slow down their investments in major capital projects as tuition costs rise rapidly. So for future applicants my advice would be to look beyond the fancy buildings and classrooms and make sure the school is investing in your future, not just new facilities!