COB 2020: Architect's Renderings

The College of Business Learning Complex design provides students and faculty with a radically different collaborative working environment, including the critical space needed to highlight our signature programs. The landscaping now connects the building with a stunning venue next to Newman Lake, providing a second green space for students to sit and relax as well as a new location for events.

Students and faculty will now have a designated space dedicated to meet their advising and mentoring needs. Located on the second floor, this critical resource is centrally located to allow easy access to classrooms as well as provide space for tutoring and testing for disability services.

This spacious, integrated environment provides the opportunity for students to relax, study between classes, collaborate and stay engaged with easy access to our signature programs including The Capital Markets Lab and the Innovation, Collaboration and Entrepreneurship Lab. This new space will elevate JMU's business education facilities to be on par with the finest business schools across the country.

From the moment you turn onto Bluestone Drive, the breathtaking Lakeside area of campus captures your attention. The College of Business Learning Complex is designed to elevate this part of campus to add an outdoor dining area, beautiful landscaping, and critical green spaces that provide students, faculty and alumni with a seat right on Newman Lake to collaborate, relax, and truly enjoy their Madison Experience.

This spectacular room is home to the largest oval conference table on the campus of James Madison University. Boasting a 40-seat capacity, this table will be set in a state of the art conference room featuring a designated catering area, ample storage space and the latest technology at both ends of the room ensuring a clear line of vision from any seat in the room.

The nationally recognized Center for Professional Sales now has a dedicated space where students can now engage in collaborative activities designed to increase self-discipline and develop their skills by blending the art and science of sales in practical instructional scenarios. The Center will be able to increase development of continuing education and certificate programs for organizations located here in the Shenandoah Valley.  

Heading toward Bridgeforth Stadium on Champions Drive, you’ll see the entrance that is the marriage of Showker Hall and the new learning Complex. Newly renovated spaces throughout Showker have added windows to match the openness of the new Learning Complex design. The new construction and the renovated Showker Hall together form an integrated complex for the College of Business, in which the line between new and old is almost imperceptible.

This innovative, modular design is ideal for collaboration, a hallmark of COB curricula, allowing small groups of students to work independently of the rest of the class or interact with one another in a large group setting. The new classrooms enhance faculty use of modern educational technology for use during lecture and team collaborations. There are several of these classrooms throughout the new hall, encouraging our students to engage in more team and collaborative work.

This expanded, welcoming space provides the opportunity for students, faculty, alumni and administration to come together in a variety of ways. Several conference rooms and offices for the Dean, associate deans, shared services, events, facilities, fiscal, integrated marketing and room for growth in the CoB's programs.

This lakefront, two-story multi-functional venue will now allow the College of Business to host C-suite speaker, career fairs and professional development programs without the challenge of trying to find enough space to host these events elsewhere on campus. The Forum provides seating for upwards of 300 participants, a dedicated catering space, a permanent stage, an 8-foot balcony overlooking Newman Lake and the ability to divide the room into 3 smaller spaces, making this one of the premier event locations on the campus of JMU.

Imagine a place where students, faculty and alumni from every area of study at James Madison University can come together to turn their ideas into reality. The ICE Lab will provide the critically needed space so that programming throughout the year will inspire students to explore their ideas and foster further development of their viable ventures. The lab will most importantly, provide a much needed home for the Center of Entrepreneurship on the campus of JMU.

This area meets a critical need for the college: comfortable study spaces. The Learning Concourse will serve both as a first floor connector between classrooms and as a place where students can study individually or collectively between classes. This will be a restful spot to stop and study and take in the lovely views at Newman Lake. Our emphasis on collaboration means this space will get tremendous use.

With so many breathtaking views of Newman Lake from the new learning complex, here you see the view from the lake is just as lovely. The external brick and window work bring a modern line to the lakeside area of campus while preserving the history and legacy of Showker Hall.

The heart of the College of Business provides a more intimate space for students to work on projects, collaborate and innovate in the Engaged Learning Zone. The updated Showker Hall provides one more comfortable and spacious area for students and faculty to work together.

The heart of the College of Business will undergo renovations in during the 2020-2021 academic year. Levels 3 through 6 of Showker Hall are redesigned to be a collaborative home for faculty, with a new student engagement and collaboration space opening up the center of each floor.

At the north end of the Main Atrium, a double-height promenade links the extension with Showker Hall, while providing a new student entry from the direction of the campus core. A wide corridor links the entry to a renovated Showker Hall lobby. This more intimate commons space leads to three levels of refurbished classrooms, outfitted with new teaching technology and lighting.