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Namesake

James R. Hodge

Hodge Hall is named for alumnus James R. Hodge, BS'74, president of Permal Asset Management. Hall's $15 million gift sparked fundraising efforts for the renovation and expansion project of the Undergraduate Building in 2009. The project is completely privately funded through $27 million in gifts from alumni and strategic partners and a $33 million Lilly Endowment Grant—the largest grant ever received by the Kelley School and one of the largest in Indiana University's history.

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The concrete block work is nearly complete on the front of the Hodge Hall Undergraduate Center expansion.Hydraulic scaffolds lift workers and concrete block to the upper floors of the undergrad building expansion. The steel frame of the Hodge Hall Undergraduate Center expansion is in place, and the interior framing is under way. The project “topped out” in early January. The Hodge Hall expansion design by BSA LifeStructures will have a slightly modern take on collegiate gothic architecture.Workers guide steel beams into place near the corner tower.The two sides of the L-shaped expansion converge at what will be the new main entrance to the undergraduate building. Workers begin construction of the corner tower. A welder secures a beam above the fourth floor of the expansion.The expansion on the Fee Lane side will house two 180-person classrooms on the ground floor and two 60-person classrooms on each of the higher floors.The steel used to construct the expansion weighs 1,000 tons. That’s the weight of about seven adult blue whales, 680 Volkswagen Beetles or 1/10th of the Eiffel Tower.Concrete walls outline the footprint of the Hodge Hall Undergraduate Center as steel framework begins to rise along the front of the building on 10th Street with the help of a 90-ton crane. The building was designed in the 1960s to resemble a computer punch card.Workers in an aerial lift remove capstones and limestone veneer from the side of the building to create a flat surface on which to attach the expansion. More than 880,000 pounds of limestone was removed. It will be recycled into crushed stone.The Hodge Hall construction site is dressed in IU red with a fence screen provided by the IU Foundation to show the benefits of giving back. No tax dollars or tuition will be used to fund the expansion and renovation. The Hodge Hall site is office and lunchroom to Matt, a worker with Gibraltar Construction. An aerial lift and a 50-ton crane work in tandem in the background to remove the limestone veneer from the exterior of the Undergraduate Building. “The Bridge” at the Kelley School houses the Office of the Dean and connects the Godfrey Graduate and Executive Education Center (completed in 2002) on the left with the Hodge Hall Undergraduate Center (completed in 1966) on the right. Jeff, a carpenter working with Gibraltar Construction, sets forms for the foundation of the expansion. Cement is poured into the forms to make walls that outline the footprint of the building. With phase one complete the first week of August 2012, the Hodge Hall site is a blank canvas, ready for construction. Excavation includes breaking through several feet of bedrock with a rig-mounted jackhammer to make holes for foundation footings. Buck Reed of Reed & Sons Construction admits all the machine-gun pounding of the hydraulic jackhammer he operates makes him a little tingly.Pallets of limestone that previously made a wall near the street will be repurposed. The Japanese maple was saved to be transplanted.A steady stream of dump trucks enter and exit the Hodge Hall expansion area, hauling away dirt and stone as workers dig down before the building can go up. Trees, stone, benches and light fixtures that can be reused are salvaged.The Hodge Hall Undergraduate Center expansion project begins in May 2012 with excavation. Site preparation includes clearing the site and rerouting utilities.  Slideshow: Hodge Hall Expansion

Hodge Hall Undergraduate Center

Renovation and Expansion

More than bricks and mortar: An expansion and renovation project transforming the way we approach business education

A new chapter in undergraduate business education at the Kelley School of Business began on March 30, 2012, as our Undergraduate Building was named Hodge Hall. The name change marks the start of a $60 million expansion and renovation project set to transform the Undergraduate Building that has served business students since 1966—and, to transform Kelley’s role in business education.

Building expansion and renovation details

The improved facilities will further elevate the role of the Kelley School in the state’s economic vitality and ensure that Kelley remains among the world’s elite business schools.
The project will be completed in two phases—expansion, then renovation—and will:

  • Expand the existing building’s footprint by nearly 90,000 square feet
  • Add 20 more classrooms, meeting rooms, student collaboration space, and a student commons—an open, tiered area at the main entry to inspire gathering and collaboration
  • Enable technology-mediated global team learning—real-time interaction with other students, business leaders, and companies around the state and around the world on vital business projects
  • Promote student-faculty discussion and enable faculty to further create innovative teaching methods
  • House the Indiana Business Research Center, a behavioral research lab, a 3M sales and business communications lab, and a stock-trading room with state-of-the-art resources
  • Offer a 2,000 square foot room for large gatherings

The expansion phase of the building project, designed by BSA LifeStructures of Indianapolis, begins in spring 2012 and is expected to be complete by the start of Fall Semester 2014. Upon completion, Hodge Hall, with its limestone façade, will complement the Kelley School’s Godfrey Graduate and Executive Education Center and is expected to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green certification requirements (LEED Silver). Hodge Hall will be more than just a business school building—the facilities will be available for use by all of Indiana University as a destination for learning and collaboration.

How will this affect current students?

During renovation and expansion, current undergraduate student classes will be held in portions of the Undergraduate Building not affected by construction. Every effort will be made to ensure that there is no disruption in learning.

History of the existing building

The current Undergraduate Building was completed in 1966 at a cost of $5.5 million. The exterior of the 140,000 square foot building was designed to look like a then-modern computer punch card. In terms of undergraduate facilities, the Kelley School’s current building predates peer school facilities by decades.