The 2023-2024 academic year is the first full year of operation for Dr. E. J. and Margaret O’Brien Hall, the new home of Marquette University’s College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Management.
“This is a transformational investment for both the college and Marquette University as a whole,” says Tim Hanley, acting Keyes dean of Business Administration. “I like to describe this building as a ‘game changer’—something that elevates the already outstanding work done around this university to another level.”
Opened in January 2023, O’Brien Hall is the largest fully donor-funded project in Marquette history at $60 million. The 110,000-square foot facility has an event space, coffee shop, specially designed rooms for pitch sessions and corporate board meetings, an applied investment management laboratory, and dedicated career center.
O’Brien Hall sits at a prominent intersection of Marquette’s urban campus, anchoring the western gateway to campus and providing easy access to the Milwaukee business community. Its location across from Marquette’s Engineering Hall allows for close collaboration between the two colleges.
“Business is not done in a vacuum,” Hanley says. “Our students’ development is greatly accelerated when they have opportunities to work across disciplines and with outside professionals. Our new building is set up to allow for both of those things to happen in ways our old space couldn’t have accommodated.
With access to technologically advanced classrooms, the building is designed for remote and in-person learning capabilities, and will be a boon for Marquette business’ nationally ranked programs. Four undergraduate specialty programs—accounting, supply chain, real estate, and finance—are ranked in the Top 40 nationally by U.S. News & World Report. The Graduate School of Management’s executive MBA program is ranked 27th overall and the part-time MBA program is ranked 53rd.