The Future of Business Education at WKU
The Future of Business Education at WKU
Amy and David Chandler Hall Dedication and Ribbon Cutting
Join us on Friday, Sept. 19 as we dedicate Amy and David Chandler Hall.
Amy and David Chandler Hall
Dedication and Ribbon Cutting
Friday, September 19, 2025
10:00 a.m. CT
Remarks with reception and tours to follow.
Amy and David Chandler Hall
Through flexible classrooms; new technology; intentionally designed areas for team projects; spaces designed to emulate real-world working environments; and more, the new 113,000-square-foot, modern College of Business building is set to transform the way we teach, how we support students and how we prepare them for careers.
Located on the space formerly occupied by Tate Page Hall, the new Gordon Ford College of Business building will:
- Better equip and prepare students
- Serve as a point of pride for the WKU Community and the Commonwealth
- Support the pedagogies, teaching and research of the faculty and staff and GFCB’s ongoing enrollment growth, while serving as the destination of choice for business education
- Support and enhance the regional business community
- Encourage innovation, invention, creativity, and active learning
- Provide flexible classrooms, new technology, intentionally designed areas for team projects, spaces designed to emulate real-world working environment
- Support GFCB’s mission to prepare the next generations of business professionals through resources such as a virtual reality simulation space, trading lab with access to Bloomberg Terminals, a one-stop-shop Student Success Center, and a Center for Financial Success
- Transform the way we teach, how we support young people, and how we prepare them for careers
- Celebrate and modernize 150 years of business education in the region
The project broke ground in June 2023 and opened in the fall of 2025.
"This innovative building celebrates the nearly 150-year history of business education in our region, while also marking an exciting new chapter for our beloved university." - President Timothy C. Caboni
The new building will have a modern, flexible, open-space interior that supports active learning, academic innovation, curriculum enhancement, and a strong community. The spaces will more uniformly serve the needs of students, elevate the teaching and research of the faculty and staff, and support ongoing enrollment growth for the Gordon Ford College of Business. Photos courtesy of © Gensler.
WKU’s 2008-2014 Capital Plan cited the need to construct a new home for the Gordon Ford College of Business. The 2021-2031 Campus Master Plan confirmed that Grise Hall had exceed its useful life and identified a new location (the former site of Tate Page Hall) for a new business building. In April 2022, the Kentucky General Assembly approved $74.4 million for the construction of a new building.
A Steering Committee, led by prior GFCB Dean Christopher Shook, worked with the architects of Gensler (Chicago) to design a space that will elevate business education at WKU. Gensler (Chicago) visited campus and met with key stakeholders, including Gordon Ford College of Business faculty, staff, and students, as well as other members of the WKU Community to gather feedback and solicit ideas.
Amy and David Chandler
At the WKU Board of Regents meeting on Friday, August 8, the philanthropic naming of the new facility to house the Gordon Ford College of Business was approved as Amy and David Chandler Hall. The naming was made in recognition of a commitment of $7.5 million from the Chandlers.
“Western Kentucky University holds a special place of pride in our hearts,” David Chandler ('82) said. “It’s where we discovered our passion for business and built the foundation for our future. We are honored to be able to support the construction of the new home of the Gordon Ford College of Business with this gift, which reflects our belief in the power of education to transform lives.”
“We hope this investment helps provide students at WKU with the tools, opportunities and leadership skills they need to succeed,” Amy Hale Chandler ('93) said. “And we hope they use those attributes to pursue their own giving opportunities for the benefit of others, just as we once dreamed of doing as students at WKU.”
The Chandlers’ philanthropy encompasses a wide range of causes, from WKU athletics and academics to the Chandler Memorial Chapel and other community efforts.
View Renderings
Photos courtesy of © Gensler.
A Great College of Business Needs a Great Place to do Business.
"Creating a space where students have all they need to study, practice and engage with each other is critically important to us." - Dr. Evelyn Thrasher, Dean, Gordon Ford College of Business
Frequently Asked Questions
The project broke ground in June 2023 and the building opened in the fall of 2025.
The 113,000-square foot-building will transform undergraduate and graduate business education in the region and fulfill an important component of WKU’s 2021-2031 Campus Master Plan.
Through flexible classrooms; new technology; intentionally designed areas for team projects; spaces designed to emulate real-world working environments; and more, the new 113,000-square-foot, modern Gordon Ford College of Business building is set to transform the way we teach, how we support students and how we prepare them for careers.
The College, named after alumnus Gordon B. Ford, who gave the largest gift in the College’s history in 1998, will retain the name “Gordon Ford College of Business.”