THE FUQUA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS DEDICATES NEW ACADEMIC CENTER

The dedication of the Wesley Alexander Magat Academic Center at The Fuqua School of Business was held Saturday, April 29, at 10:30 a.m.

Dean Rex D. Adams opened the ceremony with a tribute to Magat, a member of Fuqua's economics faculty for 25 years and an administrative leader who died in 1999 from an inoperable brain tumor. Others who spoke at the event included: Peter Lange, Duke University provost; Blair Sheppard, senior associate dean for academic programs; Joel Huber, associate dean for the MBA program; and Magat's wife, Joan. A luncheon was held following the dedication.

The center has 130 faculty offices and space for visiting scholars and adjunct professors as well as meeting rooms. The five-story building is physically linked to the existing west wing of the Thomas F. Keller Center for MBA Education and adds 70,000 square feet to the school. The academic center was designed to meet the needs of the school's goal of increasing the school's 74 tenure-track faculty members to 100 faculty members. Construction on the $15.5 million structure began in July 1998. It opened in the fall of 1999. The building is the first phase of a five-year plan for facilities expansion. The next phase will be construction of a student center designed to be the hub of campus life at Fuqua.