The UW’s Michael G. Foster School of Business has a stated goal of becoming the best public business school in the country — an ambitious endeavor considering that the school’s facilities date back to 1962.

“We have great faculty and great students, but right now our current facility doesn’t signal quality and is not functional for our purposes,” said James Jiambalvo, dean of the school.

The dream of a new building is one step closer to being realized thanks to a generous $18 million donation from PACCAR, the third largest manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in the world, and its CEO Mark Pigott.

The UW School of Business was renamed last year after a $50 million donation from the Foster family. The brand-new facility will break ground this summer and is slated for completion in 2010. It will be named PACCAR Hall in recognition of this significant donation, placing PACCAR among the five highest donating groups in the history of the University.

PACCAR is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of premium light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Its headquarters are in Bellevue, Wash.

Pigott is an active participant in the business program here at the UW.

“Pigott was actually teaching a class to our executive MBA board here the day the donation and building plans were announced,” Jiambalvo said.

Jiambalvo had previously spoken to Pigott about a $2 million dollar donation for a single classroom.

“As the discussions went on, they (PACCAR) seemed to get more excited about the project and ultimately recognized that if we were ever going to reach our goals, we needed a new building,” Jiambalvo said.

Jiambalvo is in his third year as dean of the business school and has seen tremendous changes in that short time. PACCAR Hall will be a striking addition to the UW’s already impressive campus. At 135,000 square feet, the facility will boast a modern front of glass and brick as well as an interior featuring open spaces and a central atrium.

John Waggoner, vice president of PACCAR and a UW alumnus, highlighted the importance of the UW’s success.

“PACCAR benefits with its relationship to UW by making the Northwest an attractive place to live, work and raise and educate a family,” he said. “PACCAR needs to attract highly educated men and women to remain a global technology leader.”

The new building was designed by the Seattle-based company LMN Architects, which is renowned for its eco-friendly architecture, and will include many sustainable features.

The building itself will be located directly between Denny and Balmer Halls, replacing part of a parking lot.

“We’re doing our best to maintain prominent trees and not crowd out Denny,” Jiambalyo said, acknowledging the importance of keeping Denny Hall a focal point on campus.

Of the $18 million that PACCAR and Pigott donated, $16 million will go directly to the building fund, while the other $2 million is being invested in faculty support to ensure that the UW attracts and retains the country’s best faculty and staff. PACCAR Hall will be ready for classes by autumn quarter of 2010, so only current sophomores and freshmen will be able to enjoy all the amenities the new building will have to offer.

The new business building will include much-needed updates for the program, such as the addition of 20 to 30 “breakout” rooms made to accommodate six to eight students, each with a plasma screen and a whiteboard. These rooms will focus on team assignments, and there is only one in the current building.

“The era of chalk and talk is gone,” Jiambalvo said. “Teachers no longer walk to the front of the room and turn their back to write on a chalkboard — learning is much more interactive now — and these rooms give us a great opportunity to utilize that.”

[Reach contributing writer Casey Smith at development@thedaily.washington.edu.]