Pamplin community celebrates the New Business Building
The building will be home to next-generation experiential learning and a hub for industry collaboration.
At the construction site of the New Business Building, signatures on an orange steel beam from the university and Pamplin College of Business community permanently marked the next generation for the college.
The milestone came after years of dedication to growing the college’s footprint and impact. An April 23 ceremony celebrated the 92,300-gross-square-foot, four-story New Business Building, which will consolidate multiple academic departments from across the college. The building is expected to be completed in 2027 and will connect to the Data and Decision Sciences Building through a shared atrium. This expands the Global Business and Analytics Complex within Virginia Tech’s growing North Academic District.
“With the new modernized research facilities, enhanced experiential-learning environments, and consolidated academic homes, this building will be the foundation for the next generation of business education, scholarship, and industry partnership at Virginia Tech,” said Saonee Sarker, the Richard E. Sorensen Dean of the Pamplin College of Business.
Pamplin’s approach aims to immerse students in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to solve complex and data-driven challenges. Within the building’s specialized labs, students will learn with industry-leading technology to prepare them for their careers.
Featuring the Apex Center for Entrepreneurs, the Marriott Hokie Hospitality Lab, student learning accelerator, and cutting-edge collaboration zones, the building will serve as a dynamic hub for talent, innovation, and business education in an increasingly data-driven world. It will also include enhanced career services zones, industry partner collaboration areas, networking spaces, and student‑industry project rooms, all of which will directly supporting career preparation and readiness across all Pamplin majors.
For Quinn Neary '26, the building represents the college's commitment to a heightened student experience.
“I am excited to see our commitment to continue investing in the success of students like me. I’m admittedly jealous that future Pamplin students will be able to learn and grow in this world-class space,” said Neary, a recent management graduate who will be joining the Peace Corps this fall. “I’m so excited to see the next generation of students succeed inside this beautiful Hokie Stone building.”
While students are looking forward to the opportunities that will grow their futures, alumni and industry partners see a vital pipeline of industry-ready graduates. This commitment to student success is a shared mission for the alumni leaders who helped turn the vision for this facility into a reality.
For alumni like Debbie Petrine '78, a Pamplin Advisory Council member, supporting the building is a commitment to improving the college’s global reputation.
“When this building opens, it will be the combination of many years of work, advocacy, planning, design, and philanthropic support,” said Petrine. “My Pamplin experience really shaped me and that was due in large part to the faculty of Pamplin. I was very happy when my husband and I were able to contribute here and in some other ways. I hope that all of you will continue on this journey because together we can improve the status of Pamplin.”
The signed beam has been placed in the building’s structure where the signatures and support of Pamplin’s community will remain an integral part of its foundation.
