In a move hailed by university officials as the next generation building for its business students, Samford University dedicated Cooney Hall, new home of the Brock School of Business, in a Sept. 4 ceremony.
Earlier in the day, Samford’s board of trustees approved naming the building for alumnus and Birmingham business executive Gary Cooney. Cooney, vice chairman of McGriff, Seibels and Williams Inc., a member of the Samford Board of Overseers and a 1974 Samford graduate, pledged $12.5 million as the lead gift for the building.
Cooney emphasized that the building dedication is not about the financial gifts that made it possible but, rather, the man who had the vision, Harry B. Brock Jr., the late banking executive for whom the business school is named.
The $25 million four-story structure features a glass atrium in the middle of the building that looks down three floors to an imposing lobby. It houses a state-of-the-art portfolio management room with six Bloomberg terminals that enable students to have access to comprehensive research capabilities and financial data worldwide. Students using the room will be able to present their analysis to classmates and industry leaders in a Wall Street-type setting. The ticker outside the portfolio room can be programmed to rotate updated NASDAQ or NYSE data 24 hours a day.
“The real impact of this state-of-the-art building is that it provides an exciting learning and meeting environment that will foster outstanding opportunities for our business students to learn in a professional environment for generations to come, ” said Howard Finch, business school dean.
Text by dave helms
