Interdisciplinary Investment

Interdisciplinary Investment The new building that serves the Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics provides expanded space for state-of-the-art classrooms and collaborative gathering areas.

By Jessica Luck
October 29, 2025

Roughly 200 alumni, parents, faculty, staff and students attended the Friday, Oct. 24, dedication of Washington and Lee University's new building for the Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics. Speakers included President Will Dudley, Provost Lena Hill and Crawford Family Dean of the Williams School of Commerce Rob Straughan. Several student leaders (Ben Roberts '26 from the Connolly Entrepreneurship Society; Atiba de Souza '26 from the Diversified Capital Group; Samuel Cook '27 from the W&L Political Review; Iman Haddad '26 from the W&L Real Estate Society; Jaeya Taxali '26 from W&L Student Consulting; and Preston Childress '26 from the Williams Investment Society) cut the ribbon before guests were invited inside to tour the building and learn more about the $38.3 million dynamic three-story hub, which provides flexibility for gathering, collaborating and learning.

"Today's opening marks not only an expansion but also an investment in modern facilities, classrooms, gathering spaces and technologies that will serve the 21st-century needs of our students and faculty," said Dudley. "The liberal arts are alive and well at Washington and Lee, and the Williams School is an integral part of that."

He noted that the new building is the result of the collective generosity of hundreds of donors, including alumni spanning 60 years, from the Classes of 1961 to 2021. Just inside the entrance is a wall of leadership donors, 81 lines in total, serving as a lasting tribute to their impact on the Williams School.

The Class of 1998 Outdoor Classroom honors the collective philanthropy of the class who dedicated their 25th reunion project to this space. And other named spaces throughout the building, including the Burns Bunker on the lower level made possible by the generosity of Emily and Roy Burns '99, reflect lasting connections in support of the school and its outstanding faculty and administrators.

"The building is a visible symbol of the confidence that our alumni, parents and friends place in W&L and in the next generation of leaders - the students that we are educating and preparing to lead lives of consequence," Dudley said.

The School of Commerce was originally established in 1905 and was renamed the Williams School in 1995 in honor of benefactor Ernest Williams II '38, a longtime supporter of the university. The school was originally housed in Newcomb Hall and has been located in various buildings since its inception. For the last 45 years, Huntley Hall has served as the school's flagship building. Today, the Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics stands out among the top-tier liberal arts institutions as one of the few with an internationally accredited undergraduate business program. As the program has grown - about 50% of graduating seniors major in one of its four disciplines (business administration, accounting, economics and politics) - so, too, has the need for additional classrooms and gathering spaces to best serve the needs of students and to keep class sizes small. The university's 2018 strategic plan designated the construction of additional space for the Williams School a top priority, as did the current Leading Lives of Consequence capital campaign.

Construction on the new 44,500-square-foot building on West Washington Street began in June 2023 and was completed on schedule, a few weeks before the start of Fall Term 2025. The building features 10 classrooms, two innovation labs, 52 offices and extensive spaces for student-faculty collaboration. In addition to the new building, Williams School classes will continue to be held in the soon-to-be-renovated Huntley Hall, and space in Holekamp Hall was recently renovated to house the Connolly Center for Entrepreneurship and emerging student-founded businesses. The Williams School had been scheduling at 100% capacity for 20 years, and the new classroom space allows for more non-Williams School majors to take courses, further strengthening W&L's approach to hands-on, interdisciplinary learning.

"The success of this project is a significant milestone in the success of our campaign, Leading Lives of Consequence," said Dudley at the ceremony. "We're committed to strengthening interdisciplinary programs, including our entrepreneurship program, and we want to ensure that there's sufficient capacity in Williams School courses to accommodate students who are not majoring in Williams School departments. And this new building helps us accomplish all three of those goals."

The building, designed by Boston-based architectural firm Goody Clancy, features natural light filtering in through three-story windows at the front of the building, with additional windows in classroom spaces throughout. The state-of-the-art technology enhancements include whiteboards alongside projector screens for professors, multiple screens throughout classrooms where students can plug in their laptops for group work and presentations, moveable desks and furniture for increased collaboration and innovation labs that students can fit to their own needs - quiet study or engaging group work. The new Williams School building is a modern take on traditional campus architecture, Straughan said. And it's on track to earn the university's first LEED Gold certification for environmentally friendly design, construction and operation.

"I have to say, this building really embodies the spirit of who we are," said Hill. "It's a space designed truly to encourage conversation across different disciplines, relationships across different areas of study and to spark new ideas that prepare us and our students to engage in principled, inclusive, forward-looking leadership in commerce, economics, politics and beyond."

During his remarks, Straughan - who was part of the building planning from inception - thanked everyone who helped bring the project to life, including W&L leadership, W&L Advancement staff, architects from Goody Clancy, representatives from general contractor Kjellstrom + Lee, W&L Facilities staff, W&L Information Technology Services staff and his colleagues in the Williams School.

"It was rewarding to hear people comment about the amazing natural sunlight filtering throughout the building, about the modernization of classrooms over what we have had for many, many years in Huntley Hall and the ways in which the student gathering spaces might facilitate conversations and relationships," he said. "It was rewarding to me because all of those were design priorities in this project. They were things that we set out seven years ago to make sure the building provided to the students, faculty and staff who work here."

A few weeks before the dedication ceremony, Straughan stayed in the building after faculty members and students had left for the day and spent a few hours walking the halls and reading the donor plaques next to each office, classroom, study area and collaboration zone. He appreciated the connections the gifts represented; some were made in honor of beloved faculty, and others were in honor of significant people in their lives - parents honoring their children and alumni honoring their parents. A few days later, Straughan ran into Jamie Casey '91, professor of economics, who told Straughan how touched he was to see a donor plaque made in his honor from Ginny and John Comly '01 outside of a meeting space just a few doors down from his office.

It may be the people who ultimately make a place, but place matters. And the Williams School is the embodiment of meaningful connections that lead to purposeful lives.

"It is true that while people - the students, the faculty and staff who go to work here each day - define much of the experience, the buildings facilitate those experiences: the conversations that take place, the relationships that are built," Straughan said. "And as evidenced by those gathered here, many of those relationships last a lifetime."

On Deck

Huntley Hall will remain a cornerstone of the Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics and is slated for forthcoming renovation, pending project approval from the W&L Board of Trustees. Momentum for this project continues to build; lead donors, including Phil Barret '98 and Reed Deupree '98, founders of the Williams Investment Society (WIS), have launched a fundraising challenge to help make the renovation possible (their challenge gift is split equally between renovating Huntley Hall and establishing the WIS Challenge Student Opportunities Endowment to support activities related to the Williams Investment Society). The project will transform Huntley into a three-story, multi-use hub designed for formal and informal gatherings, special events and community connection. It will include some features not available in the new Williams School building, such as tiered classrooms and computer labs.