University of Calgary opens new business school building

Business students at the University of Calgary now have access to a brand new building.

Mathison Hall is a four-storey, 10,000-square-metre complex attached to the Haskayne School of Business' existing Scurfield Hall, created to help support the school's growing community.

"We are further committing to creating a place where business students will learn and thrive, and in turn, help Calgary's economy to grow," university president Ed McCauley said.

"With the official opening of Mathison Hall, we are going to help start hundreds and thousands of careers."

Construction on the $90 million building was first announced in 2018.

The school's namesake, Ronald P. Mathison, contributed $20 million toward the build, and says it will help transform business education in Calgary.

"Mathison Hall is very well suited to its future service for the Haskayne School of Business, the University of Calgary and the city of Calgary," he said.

"It’s highly functional and, together with the adjacent Scurfield Hall, it will renew a home base for the business school."

Mathison Hall opens at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business on Monday, Jan. 9, 2022.2022 marked the 20th anniversary of the naming of the Haskayne School of Business, whose namesake Richard (Dick) Haskayne was good friends with Mathison's father Ken. 

Some key building features of the new building include:

• 12 technology-enhanced classrooms, including two high-tech classrooms;
• An 80-person open-concept round room that brings people together for important discussions, lessons and gatherings;
• A so-called "graduate student floor," which offers academic and career services, as well as a lounge exclusively for graduate students;
• 24 six-person, transparent rooms for group work or focused study;
• 11 meeting spaces;
• A fireplace area on the Robert G. Peters Floor; and
• Food services.

"At the heart of business education and business success is one’s relationships," said Haskayne School of Business Dean Jim Dewald.

"Mathison Hall will serve as a catalyst in helping our students forge those meaningful connections. Whether it is through the modern, tiered pod-style classrooms that stimulate collaboration, the warm foyer that inspires conversation or the syndicate rooms that champion group work – our students will begin forming these relationships early and often in their academic journeys."

Mathison Hall opens at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business on Monday, Jan. 9, 2022.The building, designed by architects Gibbs Gage and Diamond Schmidt, was completed on time and on budget, despite global supply chain shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic and inflationary pressures.