Published: Jan. 25, 2021

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to a virtual soft launch of the new Rustandy Building, which connects the Koelbel Building, home to the Leeds School of Business, to the Engineering Center.

The 30-minute, town hall-style event aims to celebrate the $45 million building connection through remarks by Provost Russell Moore, Leeds Dean Sharon Matusik and College of Engineering and Applied Science Interim Dean Keith Molenaar. While virtual, attendees will get a good look at the inside of the new building from different angles and locations.

“This is a first-of-its-kind physical connection on a college campus,” Moore said. “The Rustandy Building stands at the heart of the business and engineering partnership. Together, both colleges are ushering in a new era of collaboration and innovation at CU Boulder to meet evolving industry demands and lead the future of business and innovation.”

If you go

What: Rustandy Building virtual grand opening

When: 1 to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29

How to register: Register by Jan. 27 online

Learn more about the Rustandy Building

Watch a video explaining the project

The CU Board of Regents approved construction of the addition in November 2018. The project, built by Haselden Construction, resulted in the renovation of 29,000 square feet and the addition of 45,000 square feet of new space. 

The new building includes: 

  • An innovation and entrepreneurship hub where CU Boulder students from any discipline can collaborate with business students, faculty and local business leaders; 
  • A 200-seat auditorium to be used primarily by the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the Leeds School of Business; 
  • Four 90-seat active-learning classrooms to foster collaboration and experience learning; 
  • Reorganization of the William M. White business library to enhance services and provide more efficient student study space;
  • HVAC improvements 

There are academic and programmatic elements as well.

The new and renovated space provides opportunity for the two schools to come together for curricular collaboration, such as a cross-disciplinary project management course that bring in outside industry; a joint MBA and computer science degree; a cross-campus entrepreneurship certificate; a business minor for engineering students; a computer science minor for business students; and more. 

On the programming side, the new building provides opportunities to collaborate, including a New Venture Launch Course; Phillips 66 Business and Engineering Diversity Case Competition; Business and Engineering Tech Scholars program (BE Tech Scholars); collaborative recruitment efforts; business mentoring for engineering students; joint entries into New Venture Challenge and campus-wide competitions; and shared corporate partnerships with Ball Corporation, Arrow, Zayo and Phillips 66. 

The new addition will be built to LEED Gold standards for sustainability and is funded largely through philanthropy.

It is named after Leeds alumnus and donor Tandean Rustandy, one of the top CEOs in the Republic of Indonesia and a first-generation college student who has long supported CU Boulder’s efforts to foster entrepreneurship, innovation and collaboration. With this $5 million gift to the new building, Rustandy has gifted more than $10 million to the university.

The schools are in the final stages of raising the $43.5 million in donor funding needed for the building. Boulder entrepreneur Dan Caruso and Leeds Advisory Board member Cindy Caruso—active philanthropists who have supported entrepreneurial activity on campus for over a decade—are matching $1 for every $2 committed to the building expansion project, up to $1.2 million. (Find information on this matching opportunity and how to make a gift.) 

The deans are especially thankful to Rustandy and other donors and supporters, and are excited about what the new building will mean for academic innovation and opportunity for generations of students to come. They also look forward to hosting a grand opening celebration when it is safe to do so per public health guidelines.

“We look forward to the great collaboration and innovation that this new space will inspire,” Matusik said. “It’s a stunning building designed to facilitate interactions among students from across campus, faculty and our community, and showcases our beautiful natural environment. We know the space itself will encourage the creativity and new ways of working together that we need to harness the opportunities of the future.”

Engineering Interim Dean Keith Molenaar agreed.

“Engineers must work in teams to solve today’s complex problems. From civil engineers building our water systems and bridges to aerospace engineers launching satellites into orbit, our partners in business are key team members. Together, these teams can be more creative and bring innovative ideas to market. This new building will help with that goal and will provide a space for our students to engage with people across campus and the state.”