$32M Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Education Opens at UMKC

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Aug. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, a new model for business schools opens at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).  The $32 million, 68,000-square-foot Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship features "active learning" classrooms and hands-on brainstorming and simulation facilities. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130820/NY66604)

"I am convinced that studying entrepreneurship on an undergraduate or graduate level can significantly reduce the business failure rate. That's precisely why I am a big proponent of our programs, which focus on 'active' learning in addition to traditional classroom lectures," said Henry W. Bloch, chairman emeritus, H&R Block, and Bloch School benefactor.  "Several of our entrepreneurship programs require students to start a scalable business in order to graduate."

The three-story glass and terracotta building has an environment akin to a design school, and includes:

• Innovation lab with design simulation and prototyping areas for iterating ideas
• Behavioral research lab for on-the-spot experiments and studies that yield insight into consumer behavior
• Active learning classrooms with mobile furniture for reconfiguration purposes
• Finance lab with real-time trading

"The Bloch School has increased its enrollment by 70% since 2007, and the facility will enable us to continue to grow our top-ranked graduate, executive and entrepreneurship programs," said Dr. David Donnelly, acting dean of the Bloch School.

The Bloch School has gained global recognition for its entrepreneurship and innovation, accounting and nonprofit management programs.  It was rated 2012's National Model Graduate Entrepreneurship Program by the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. 

The new facility sits adjacent to UMKC's Henry W. Bloch School of Management and is the result of a gift from Bloch School benefactor Henry W. Bloch.  It houses the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, graduate and executive programs, and undergraduate courses. 

The building was designed by BNIM, with Moore Ruble Yudell, and built by JE Dunn Construction.  Designed to achieve LEED Gold standards, the structure incorporates sustainable materials, giant skylights and energy-saving heating and cooling systems.

About the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City

The Henry W. Bloch School of Management is a preeminent school of management focusing on entrepreneurial and innovative thinking as the foundation for transforming talent and achieving sustainable growth in for-profit, public and nonprofit enterprises. bloch.umkc.edu.

SOURCE University of Missouri-Kansas City