UC San Diego's Rady School of Management Opens Doors to Success With Dedication of New Building, Otterson Hall

The Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego today celebrated the opening of its new building, Otterson Hall. The building was named Otterson Hall in honor of the late William (Bill) Otterson, co-founder of UCSD CONNECT, in appreciation for his contributions to the San Diego business community and his impact on the region.

Strong community participation allowed the construction costs of Otterson Hall to be privately funded by Rady School supporters, including Ernest Rady and the Rady Family Foundation, whose $30 million contribution represents the second largest philanthropic gift in the university's history. UC San Diego named the Rady School of Management in recognition of this leadership support through "The Campaign for UCSD," the university's comprehensive fundraising initiative. UC San Diego contributed funds for infrastructure and planning expenses. The total cost of the building was approximately $43 million.

"Bill Otterson recognized the importance of educating leaders for growth industries, which is the mission of the Rady School of Management," said UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. "Otterson Hall provides an exceptional setting for the Rady School to perpetuate Bill's vision of preparing innovative business leaders for the region and beyond."

Otterson Hall will have extensive programmatic uses for the Rady School and was specifically designed to encourage the interaction of the school with the campus and the wider San Diego community, blending academic and corporate cultures. The facility, which is approximately 50,000 assignable square feet, has classrooms, conference rooms and common areas for students, as well as faculty and staff offices. It will also host special events -- the commencement ceremonies for the inaugural Full-Time MBA class will be held at Otterson Hall on June 18.

"This is truly a milestone event for UC San Diego and especially for the Rady School. We are opening doors to success with our permanent home on campus -- a distinctive facility with room for growth, which was designed for community engagement," said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. "Many people came together to make this building a reality for the Rady School and we are thankful to them all."

Otterson Hall was designed by Ellerbe Becket of San Francisco and construction began in September 2005, with PCL Construction Services serving as the general contractor for the building. The building was designed with environmental sustainability in mind, using natural ventilation and energy efficient lighting. The office chairs in Otterson Hall are made of recycled content, locally sourced and low-emitting materials and they are 98 percent recyclable. The Rady School is also in the process of installing solar panels on the roof of Otterson Hall to provide an added energy source for the building.

Other speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included Marsha Chandler, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at UC San Diego; Ernest Rady, the school's founding benefactor; Rady School supporters William (Bill) Stensrud and Anne Otterson; and Ciara Kennedy, Rady School Alumni Association president.

Rady School supporters Bill and Carol Stensrud committed significant resources, which matched building gifts dollar-for-dollar, allowing the Rady School's home to be named Otterson Hall. More than 340 donors made financial contributions to this matching program, including Rady School MBA students, staff and faculty.

"Bill Otterson was known for fostering innovation-driven companies in the region," said Ernest Rady. "His expertise and guidance helped many of San Diego's companies to become what they are today and all of the donors who contributed to Otterson Hall were happy to help recognize his impact on the community."

"This building is a permanent testament to the work my husband did in San Diego," said Anne Otterson. "It is an honor for our family to have this building on the UC San Diego campus and for it to serve as the home of the Rady School of Management."

The Rady (pronounced Ray-dee) School of Management at UC San Diego educates global leaders for innovation-driven organizations. A professional school within one of the top-ranked institutions in the U.S. for higher education and research, the Rady School offers a Full-Time MBA program, a FlexMBA program for working professionals, undergraduate and executive education courses. Our lineage includes 16 Nobel Laureates (former and current faculty) and eight MacArthur Foundation award recipients. The Rady School is at the nexus of this research, development and innovation -- it underlies our curriculum and our academic model.