The Rotman School of Management's expansion has officially opened. The new space doubles the amount of teaching, research, study, presentation and special event space.

Posted on September 11, 2012

On September 5th the Rotman School of Management celebrated its landmark expansion—doubling its teaching, research, study, presentation and special event space.  With a remarkably generous $15-million donation from an anonymous benefactor, the Rotman School took a very significant step forward in its aspirations to become the world’s leading centre for integrative and innovative management leadership.  The gift is one of the largest individual contributions committed to the Boundless campaign to date, and to the Rotman expansion project, and builds on earlier milestone contributions from such other visionary philanthropists as Joseph Rotman (MCom 1960), Sandra Rotman (BA 1975) and Marcel Desautels (LLD 2003).

The expansion gives the Rotman School the facilities it needs to continue its trajectory of growth and innovation that has propelled it into the top ranks of the world’s years leading management schools.  The Rotman School is currently raising $200 million to augment its programs and faculty, which includes the $92-million expansion project.

The Rotman School expansion was announced in 2007 with a grant of $50 million from the Province of Ontario and an additional $10 million in other government funding.  Designed by award-winning Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), the nine-storey project is seamlessly integrated with the Rotman School’s existing five-storey home, which opened in 1995.

Across the street from Robarts library, in the heart of the St. George campus, it is also connected to an existing heritage home that will host 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 U of T campus.

“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. “We could not be more grateful for this wonderful anonymous benefaction in support of this new building, that gives us the physical space necessary to take the next steps towards this goal.”  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 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 70-seat classrooms, a state-of-the-art Event Hall that 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 more than 60 new study rooms and 790 full size lockers for students.

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.

Rotman currently offers a 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 enrol 390 students.

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. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca