Arkansas Tech University’s new $9.9 million facility, Rothwell Hall, is open for business – and class.  The newly constructed, four-story facility opened in January and is home to the Arkansas Tech College of Business, as well as a regional office of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) and the Arkansas Tech Academic Advising Center.

The 60,000-square foot, four-story building features two floors of dedicated classroom space, a financial trading lab complete with stock ticker, five computer labs, 314 total computers for student use, 12 academic advising offices and four conference rooms.  It will serve as a hub for business professionals, students and professors and will elevate the classroom experience for business students by enabling them to work more closely with area business leaders.

In addition to the increased real-world experience the new facility will provide, the College of Business is also expanding its classroom offerings.  Students seeking their Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree will now be able to select one of four areas of emphasis in which to specialize – marketing, entrepreneurship, management or international business.

Dr. Robert C. Brown, Arkansas Tech president, said, “We have made a significant investment of time and funds to continuously improve our College of Business, from gaining AACSB [The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business] accreditation to upgrading technology.  With the opening of Rothwell Hall, the College of Business now has the state-of-the-art facility to match its world-class faculty and students.”

Technology within Rothwell Hall will greatly enhance the research and distance learning capabilities for students and faculty on the campus.  A state-of-the-art computer lab and a connection to the Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network (ARE-ON), a high-speed fiber based communications network, allows access to state, national and international networks and high-performance computing resources for the purposes of supporting research and education applications. 

The completion of Rothwell Hall during Arkansas Tech’s Centennial Anniversary also marks another campus milestone - $161 million in campus improvements since 1995. 

Designed by AMR Architects of Little Rock, the building gives the east entrance to campus a more urban feel.  An oversized skylighted front porch provides space for prospective students to gather before touring the campus.  Inside the main lobby, glass walls allow continuous views of the academic advising center and trading lab.  The ticker tape in the trading room passes through the glass wall and continues into the lobby.  On each floor the elevators open onto a lounge where students can study, charge their laptops and take breaks between classes.  The building’s exterior uses the established material palette of the campus in new and innovative ways. 

The building is named Rothwell Hall in honor of Arkansas Tech alumni Ben and Terry Rothwell and in recognition of their significant and long-term support for the university.

“Ben and Terry Rothwell are among the most loyal and ardent supporters of Arkansas Tech University. They have given their time, their spirit and their substance to this institution. They have done so out of love for their alma mater and because they have a genuine and abiding belief in the power of higher education,” Brown stated.

Mr. Rothwell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Arkansas Tech in 1975. Mrs. Rothwell, the former Terry Tucker, is a 1974 Arkansas Tech graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in business education and is the founder and chief executive officer of Celerit, an information technology and technical consulting firm that she established with her husband’s encouragement in 1985.