New era begins at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

With the opening of its expansion, the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management begins a new era this month which will enable it to continue to expand its programs and faculty and increase its international profile.

Designed by award-winning Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), the expansion doubles the amount of teaching, research, study, presentation and special event space available to the Rotman School community. The nine-storey project is seamlessly integrated with the Rotman School’s existing five-storey home, which opened in 1995. It is also connected to an existing heritage home that will become the home of the Rotman PhD program. Targeting LEED® Silver certification, the project exemplifies sustainable design principles and prioritizes the well-being of students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The interior is filled with natural light, fresh air, and spectacular views of the historic UofT campus, which was founded in 1827.

“This landmark expansion will facilitate the work of Rotman faculty, students, and graduates as key participants in the urgent global dialogue on innovation and prosperity,” says University of Toronto President David Naylor. “Most important, it will provide more of the best tools available to help ensure the success of our students. And this in turn, through their creativity and leadership as Rotman alumni, will help ensure the success of our society.”

“Our aim for the past 14 years has been to make sure Canada has a business school that ranks among the world’s finest,” says Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School (pictured below with architect Bruce Kuwabara, Sandra Rotman, Joseph Rotman, Marcel Desautels, and students.) “This wonderful new building gives us the physical space necessary to take the next steps toward that goal.”

“The expansion allows us to continue to pursue our mission of redesigning business education through our approach built on Integrative Thinking,” says the Rotman School’s Assistant Dean, Integrative Planning & Chief Operating Officer Mary-Ellen Yeomans. “KPMB’s design understands our innovative and creative approach to education. With an abundance of new space for students, faculty and staff, the expansion will enable us to pioneer with new courses, content, and methods in all of our programs.”

The expansion contains seven new seventy-seat classrooms, a state-of-the-art Event Hall which can seat up to 500 people for a lecture, faculty and staff offices, a ground floor café with seating for 130, four outdoor spaces including terraces and green roofs, as well as over sixty new study rooms and 790 full size lockers for students. (You can watch a video about the building's design and construction here.)

The expansion also provides a new home to several of the Rotman School’s research and education centres including the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking, Rotman DesignWorks, Martin Prosperity Institute, Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics and Board Effectiveness, Institute for International Business, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Michael Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship, the Centre for Health Sector Strategy and a new Venture Lab. The Rotman School was ranked 10th in the world for faculty research in the January 2012 survey of MBA programs by the Financial Times.

The Rotman School currently offers the Rotman Full-Time MBA, Morning MBA, Evening MBA, One-Year Executive MBA, Omnium Global Executive MBA, Master of Finance, a PhD program, executive education and several joint programs and courses. The expansion will allow the continued growth of the Full-Time MBA program which will eventually grow to 390 students.

The $92 million project was announced in 2007 with a gift of $50 million from the Province of Ontario and an additional $10 million in other government funding. Support from individuals such as Sandra and Joseph Rotman, Marcel Desautels and an anonymous donor was received as well as support from numerous friends, companies, faculty, students and staff. The expansion is the centre piece of a $200-million campaign which has also generated substantial support for student and faculty activities.

KPMB is one of Canada’s leading architecture firms, with over 175 awards for architectural excellence, including 12 Governor General’s Medals. In Toronto, KPMB’s widely-acclaimed projects include the Rotman School as well as the Gardiner Museum, the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Canada’s National Ballet School, and the Royal Conservatory of Music.

The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is redesigning business education for the 21st century with a curriculum based on Integrative Thinking. Located in the world’s most diverse city, the Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables the design of creative business solutions. The School is currently raising $200 million to ensure Canada has the world-class business school it deserves. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.