Did You Know

Mays Business School is committed to becoming the preeminent public business school in the nation—and its new Business Education Complex (BEC) is a key part of that effort. In addition to the Wehner Building, the complex will include the new state-of-the-art Wayne Roberts ’85 Building and inviting outdoor spaces.

The new building will have a high degree of energy in its interior and exterior spaces with a focus on connectivity, creativity and collaboration among students, faculty and executives.
- William Peel Jr. ’74

“We want Mays to be the best public business school in the country, and that means we need the best faculty, students and facilities on top of the culture that makes Texas A&M great,” said Wayne Roberts ’85, who committed $7.5 million as the lead donor for the new building. “The new building is designed for the 21st century and advanced learning models. It will be beautiful aesthetically and architecturally, and it will be a prominent part of campus.”

Following its recent October groundbreaking ceremony, the Wayne Roberts ’85 Building is projected to open in 2025. Readily visible from Olsen Boulevard, it will serve as the business school’s welcoming front porch for current and former students, faculty, staff and business executives, as well as a hub for West Campus.

“The Wayne Roberts ’85 Building will have a high degree of energy in its interior and exterior spaces with a focus on connectivity, creativity and collaboration among students, faculty and executives,” said William Peel Jr. ’74, executive director of innovation and strategic planning for Mays Business School. “It will be an epicenter of activity on West Campus, attracting students from various colleges and encouraging interdisciplinary educational experiences.”

Construction is being financed through a mix of funds from the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost as well as significant private contributions through the Texas A&M Foundation. The existing Wehner Building will still be used for business educational activities. In future years, it will undergo further renovations to achieve consistency with the new building.

Check out five features to love about the future home of business education in Aggieland.

The Collaboration Plaza will have covered outdoor seating that offers a comfortable spot for students to study, meet and relax between classes.

1. Collaboration Inside and Out

The focus on engagement and exchange will start in the complex’s Collaboration Plaza. The area’s covered outdoor seating will offer a comfortable spot for studying, meeting and relaxing between classes. “The complex will have spaces between buildings carefully planned and articulated to support Mays’ three-part mission of being a vibrant learning organization, creating impactful knowledge and developing transformational leaders,” Peel explained.

The ground floor’s grand atrium will house a café and flexible seating to encourage interactions between and among faculty, students, staff and visitors.

2. A Grand Entrance

Visitors will enter the Wayne Roberts ’85 Building through the ground floor’s grand atrium. A café and flexible seating will encourage “chance collisions” that spark spontaneous discussions between and among faculty, students, staff and visitors. This flexible space can also be used for larger gatherings, such as convocations, banquets and career fairs.

“Our students and faculty have earned and deserve the very best in facilities, and this building will achieve that expectation,” said Cox and Perkins Exploration President and Chairman Jerry Cox ’72, whose $5 million gift will help bring the atrium to life. “This new facility will attract the very best students and faculty, helping achieve our goal of being the best public business school in America.”

There will be free-form huddle spaces throughout the Wayne Roberts ’85 Building to enable students, faculty and staff to pull chairs together to meet, study or visit.

3. Huddle Hubs

The Wayne Roberts ’85 Building will create opportunities for networking and innovation through an array of collaboration spaces, each of which can serve up to six individuals. Additionally, free-form huddle spaces throughout the building will enable students, faculty and staff to pull chairs together to meet, study or visit. “These relaxed, open spaces will promote social community within the school,” Cox said, “creating one of the nation’s most innovative and creative business school environments.”

New learning studios will be designed as flexible classroom spaces that include the latest technologies, creating engaging instructional experiences.

4. Cutting-Edge Classrooms

New active learning studios designed as high-energy, flexible classroom spaces will include the latest technologies, allowing faculty members to become learning facilitators who create engaging instructional environments through teaming and hybrid learning experiences.

“The new building will help students become more active learners and ultimately shape their passion to become lifelong learners,” said Mays Family Foundation President Kathy Mays Johnson, daughter of the business school’s late namesake, Lowry Mays ’57. The Mays Foundation committed $15 million as the lead donor toward the collective BEC. “It’s all about developing transformational leadership, inspiring students to excel and creating a better future for everyone,” Johnson added.

5. Executive Environment

The top floor of the Wayne Roberts ’85 Building will house one of Mays’ premier assets, the Center for Executive Development, which offers services and support to executives from organizations across the globe. “The new building will offer high-impact lifelong learning experiences for organizations seeking the acceleration and advancement of leading-edge business initiatives,” Peel noted.

Numerous naming opportunities still exist in the new Business Education Complex. To learn more, contact True Brown, senior director of development, at the bottom of this page. You can also make a gift toward the complex's construction below.

Support the BEC