New academic building for Drury University to break ground at end of October

Drury University will break ground on its first new academic building in two decades at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29.

A limited number of guests, including donors, trustees, civic leaders and members of the campus community, will attend the outdoor ceremony at the southeast corner of Drury Lane and Central Street. The building’s naming donor will be unveiled at the ceremony. 

The three-story, 56,700-square-foot facility is the first major project of Drury’s campus master plan. The $27 million project is funded entirely through private donations.

The project will provide a new home for the Breech School of Business Administration and the Department of Political Science and International Affairs. It will also house the Robert and Mary Cox Compass Center which provides academic advising, career planning and development for students.

Upon completion, the new building will feature an 10,500-square-foot Center for Executive Education attached by a colonnade to the main building. This conference center and flexible event space will be used extensively by the entire Drury campus and will be available for community use as well, the university said.

“The Enterprise Center is wonderful and tangible proof of Drury’s current momentum,” President Tim Cloyd said. “Generations of Drury students will walk the halls of this building, and their lives will be forever changed by the teaching and mentorship they will receive within its walls. Our donors have demonstrated their lasting commitment to Drury by making it possible, and we look forward to thanking many of them in person as we break ground in celebration.”

The building is expected to host its first classes in fall 2022.