A shared vision is born

Ken Snyder

Last week representatives from all the groups involved in planning our new building got together for what I will call a “visioning meeting.” We talked about the things we want to be sure this new building will do for the school. We created a comprehensive list of our “vision.”

• It’s more important to invest time to carefully assess the needs of our students and to design the building properly than it is for us to work on an accelerated design and construction schedule.

• We’d prefer a smaller well-designed building to a larger one that fails to meet our needs.

• The building should have an open feel and design that helps create a sense of community.

• We want to let the sun shine in. The design should take full advantage of natural lighting.

• It should be designed to best meet our student’s needs. We want to keep that idea foremost in our planning.

• We need to have more student-centric places available.

• We want to take advantage of the opportunity to build an iconic structure.

• Huntsman Hall needs to fit among the other buildings on campus so that it will contribute, not detract, from what makes the Utah State University campus remarkable.

• The building should effectively connect with and integrate into the existing George S. Eccles Business Building so that they feel like one complex.

• We are becoming a top-tier business school and we want to be sure our building reflects that.

• The building should be a recruiting tool to attract faculty members and new students. It should entice people to come join us.

• The design should promote collaboration between students, faculty and staff. It should feel inviting to the local, state and world leaders who will come to visit and meet with our students.

• The design should take advantage of the latest technology and be flexible to adapt to developments in the future.

• The design should support our “global vision” pillar and invite students to explore how they can “change the world.”

We realize this is a preliminary list and that it may change, but we think we are off to a good start.

- Ken Snyder