FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new multi-disciplinary facility is open for business on the University of Arkansas campus. The J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. Center for Academic Excellence promotes collaboration and provides a flexible learning environment in a welcoming setting.

More than 7,000 students are expected to walk the halls and fill the classrooms of the 110,000-square foot, five-story facility daily. Students will attend courses offered by the Sam M. Walton College of Business, the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering. University IT Services also occupies space. By grouping the various disciplines together physically and providing architectural environments that have been proven to encourage collaboration, students will have endless opportunities to pool resources and strengthen partnerships across areas of study.

Fred Limp, Leica Geosystems Chair in Geospatial Imaging and director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), serves as co-chair of the building committee alongside David Hyatt, assistant dean for finance and administration in the Walton College. “This building was designed, in a physical sense, to implement the vision and goals of the university,” Limp said. “A building affects the lives of the people who occupy it. We wanted the building to create a sense of innovation and collaboration and to encourage creativity and a sense of excitement about learning.”

The flexible components of the building are not only evident in the energy the space communicates but also in the physical capabilities of the structure. The Hunt Center is the largest raised floor academic building in Arkansas. This means that all electrical data and HVAC is located under removable panels in the floors allowing for simple reconfiguration of outlets and other electrical access as educational or research needs change. Dan Street, construction coordinator in the office of Facilities Management, said, “having raised floors and movable walls added somewhat to the initial cost, but the flexibility will more than pay for itself by saving on reconfiguration costs in the future.” The entire building provides hard-wire and wireless access and offers high performance networking capabilities. Smart classrooms, made possible by support from the Honors College, include extensive AV capabilities. An instructor can display a slide, run a movie or present any image by the push of a button.

Many of the computer classrooms are organized with a seating arrangement permitting instructors to teach from the center of the class. This encourages more interaction and personal attention. Screens are located in the corners of the room for easy viewing, and several of the seat locations allow students to control the content on the screens.

The building also has spaces specifically designed to encourage collaboration in both research and education. Research programs from the College of Engineering, Walton College and Fulbright College are located in the Hunt Center. “We designed a number of conference rooms and seating areas around the building as well as the coffee shop in the atrium specifically to encourage the informal collaboration that leads to exciting new research opportunities,” said Ned Collier of Boston-based architecture firm Perry Dean Rogers & Partners. In a similar manner, instructional spaces have been designed to encourage groups to work together. There are eight student team rooms in the building that can be “checked out” by student groups for projects and group study. Collier’s team worked in association with local architecture firm Wittenberg, Delony and Davidson on the design of the facility.

In addition to the positive experiences afforded by classroom technology and arrangement, the Hunt Center was constructed using environmentally friendly materials. Showers are available in the building to make transition effortless for bike riders and walkers. The building meets many Leadership and Energy in Environmental Design (LEED) standards set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council.

According to the mission of the facility, center faculty and staff will prepare students for the diverse, innovative, collaborative, team-oriented environment prevalent in today’s workplace. Graduates will be innovators and leaders of the 21^st century economy of Arkansas.

Construction of the Hunt Center was made possible by two lead gifts in 2005: $10 million from J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and $5 million from Johnelle Hunt and the late J.B. Hunt. Total cost of the project was approximately $30 million. The building was formally dedicated by University of Arkansas officials and representatives from J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. in a ceremony held Sept. 6 followed by tours of the facility for media and other guests.