Business students returning to Iowa State will no longer have to trek around campus for their classes — their college now has a central location.

The Gerdin Business Building will be open this semester to all undergraduate and graduate business students.

“This is a much more modern facility,” said Labh Hira, dean of the College of Business. “Both undergraduate and graduate classes will be taught at Gerdin.”

The 111,000-square-foot building has 12 classrooms and will provide wireless Internet access, classrooms with available instructional technology and career services on location, Hira said.

Before the Gerdin Business Building was built, most business classes were held in Carver Hall. Students and faculty also had to go to Jack Trice Stadium’s skybox to meet with corporate representatives for interviews.

“Now, the representatives will be able to interact with students and faculty directly on campus,” he said.

The new building will improve the college in several ways, said Michael Crum, professor of logistics operations and management information systems.

At Carver Hall, students had little room to study or interact with other students on group projects, he said.

“[Gerdin] is student-friendly — that is, well-utilized for individual studying and group projects,” Crum said.

Another key aspect the building provides is the availability of technology to students and faculty in the classroom.

“The technology in the [classrooms] is wonderful,” Crum said. “I will be able to access my desktop from my computer in my office in class and post notes on notepad instead of using a chalkboard or white erase board.”

Those abilities will help increase interaction time with students and help Crum better plan out his class schedules, he said. Students will also have wireless Internet access on laptops in some classrooms.

“I can also post discussion notes from that day’s class on my Web site for students who want to review,” Crum said.

The building is named after Russ and Ann Gerdin of Coralville, who donated $10 million to the building project. Russ Gerdin is the founder of Heartland Express, Inc.

“The Gerdins are founders of one of the most successful businesses in Iowa,” Crum said. “Without their donation, none of this would be possible.”