Sorenson donation to complete U. business school project

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah philanthropist James Lee Sorenson and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation are donating $4.34 million to the building of the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business. In turn, one of the three pavilions in the planned $62 million, five-floor, 188,000 square-foot facility will bear the Sorenson name.

The building will replace a more than 40-year-old business school that is half the size, and while current facilities within the department at the U. have been bursting at the seams for years, the new building is not expected to open until 2013. New construction will allow for expanded classroom and office space and unique study spaces for graduate students.

Sorenson, who is matching half of the donation from the Foundation, graduated from the U.'s Eccles school in 1975 and "is one of our most remarkable alumni," said Taylor Randall, dean of the David Eccles School of Business. "He has had a lifetime of outstanding business accomplishments and over the years he has consistently supported the school."

Not only has Sorenson and the family's foundation supported business school efforts at the U., but they have been instrumental in other endeavors, including the James LeVoy Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building that is part of the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative complex at the U., the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex, the Sorenson Center for Discovery and Innovation, as well as other donations designated for scholarships and various endowed chairs. In all, they have given nearly $40 million to the U.

The Sorenson donation to the new construction at the business school helps to complete the project after the state contributed $22.9 million. The remainder is coming from other donations, totaling in the range of $39.1 million. Last year, the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation put out $12 million for the new facility.

The David Eccles School of Business is the second-largest school on the U.'s urban campus, with 3,800 students and 140 staff, and is ranked by multiple national publications among the top business schools in the country. It was founded in 1917 as the U.'s School of Commerce and Finance and was one of the first in the region to offer an accredited MBA program. The school offers programs in entrepreneurship, technology innovation and venture capital management. Recently a new center for real estate was announced, which will promote business ethics expertise.

Randall said the school already boasts "outstanding students and faculty."

"Now we can look forward to greatly improved facilities that build on the compelling educational experience we offer," he said. Ironically, Randall's father, Clyde Randall, was dean when the former Francis Armstrong Madsen building was dedicated in 1965. The new business complex will rise at the same location on campus.

Groundbreaking for the facility will be in the spring.

e-mail: wleonard@desnews.com