Kansas University’s School of Business may build a new $30 million state-of-the-art facility on the scenic site of what is now Carruth-O’Leary Hall on West Campus Road.

That’s one of the ideas, university architect Warren Corman said. Another plan is placing the building behind Carruth-O’Leary overlooking Potter Lake.

Corman said a goal was to keep a new facility as close to the center of campus as possible.

The school, currently housed in the decades-old Summerfield Hall, is looking for a new home as it expands faculty and programs.

“We have a lot of energy and a lot of growth in the school,” said Bill Fuerst, the school’s dean.

The school added 14 faculty members this year for a total of 56. And there are plans to add additional faculty next year.

The school has expanded degree offerings, adding finance, information systems, management and marketing.

Fuerst said the school was in a silent phase as it approached potential donors, and a new building was still several years away. He said a final location had not been set.

Meanwhile, faculty are enthusiastic about potential upgrades.

Business professor Bill Beedles said he still taught with chalk and a chalkboard, as he has for decades.

“Summerfield is pretty primitive,” he said.

“I think our teaching would be more effective if we had a classroom environment that is more conducive to learning.”

A new facility would help the school recruit more full-time MBA students, Beedles said.

Business professor Mark Hirschey said the school needed to have access to better technology.

He said he had problems getting computer lab access for some classes he teaches.

“We’re really limited in what we can do,” he said. “The building is a tool that you use to serve students better.”

Summerfield was built in the mid-1960s.

Fuerst said the plan was to build a multidimensional building with computer labs, conference rooms and high-tech classrooms of various sizes.

“If you looked at the top 20 public business schools in the United States, almost all of them have new facilities or at least state-of-the-art facilities,” he said.

Fuerst estimates the building would cost $30-$32 million. The school is seeking private funds.

Corman said tearing down Carruth-O’Leary, which was built to be a dorm in the 1950s, would require legislative approval.