The University of Glasgow has formally opened a state-of-the-art building to house its world-leading Adam Smith Business School.

The new Adam Smith Business School Building and Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Hub was opened by Professor Cecilia Rouse, former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House for the Biden-Harris administration, Katzman-Ernst Professor in Economics and Education at Princeton University, and incoming President of the Brookings Institution.

Professor Rouse was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of the University of Glasgow for her work as a labour economist, her commitment to education, and her contribution to public service.

The Adam Smith Business School Building and Postgraduate Taught Hub was constructed at a cost of £85 million and will be formally named the Adam Smith Building at the end of the current academic year.

The new building contains a range of state-of-the-art teaching, research and collaboration spaces for students and staff from the University’s Adam Smith Business School.

It also delivers the first ever dedicated study and social space for the University of Glasgow’s graduate students, meaning the University can better support and promote business skills, employability and graduate attributes across its programmes.

The state-of-the-art facilities include a trading environment, simulating the experience of working with financial software in real-world trading roles and a dedicated MBA and Executive Education Suite.

Professor Rouse, who spoke at the building opening, said: “Adam Smith is well-known for his belief in the virtues of the free market. But it is also his articulation of the necessity of the public sector – from roads to national security, to a legal structure, to benefits like childcare that enable full participation in our economy – that help make his vision so valuable to a new generation of scholars.”

Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “This new building will be a fantastic home for our world-renowned Adam Smith Business School. Opening in Adam Smith’s tercentenary year, it will ensure that Glasgow sustains his legacy by continuing to promote innovation, foster connections across academia, industry and policy, and welcome staff and students from around the world to the city of Glasgow.”

"The building will also be home to our new Postgraduate Taught Hub, an important resource to support our PGT community. These new facilities will bring our community together in new ways, enabling us to respond to the changing needs of industry and job markets, while placing business skills at the heart of the student experience at Glasgow.”

Head of the Adam Smith Business School, Professor Eleanor Shaw, said: “The Adam Smith Business School is committed to being engaged, enlightened and entrepreneurial, and to engaging in world-changing research and scholarship that can have positive differences on our learners and for the communities we work with and service.

“The facilities in our new home support these ambitions and we look forward to welcoming our learners and our partners to work alongside us in our new facilities. Our flagship new building means the University of Glasgow continues to be seen as a place that inspires and influences people and organisations around the world, engaging with a wide range of industries, organisations and policy-makers.

“This major new facility also means the Adam Smith Business School can grow its international reputation, attracting the very best staff and students to Glasgow.”

The building was opened during Adam Smith’s tercentenary year, which has seen the University of Glasgow lead global events and activities to commemorate Smith’s learning and legacy.

Adam Smith

The Adam Smith Business School Building and Postgraduate Taught Hub is being opened in the tercentenary of Adam Smith’s birth. Adam Smith was a pioneering thinker, who is known around the world as the founding father of modern economics. Educated in Glasgow, he was a student of the University of Glasgow in 1737, before continuing his studies and becoming a Professor of Moral Philosophy and eventually Rector of the University of Glasgow, in 1787.

Adam Smith is best known for three publications: ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’, ‘The Wealth of Nations’, and his incomplete ‘Lectures on Jurisprudence’. 

The Adam Smith Business School

The University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School is named after Adam Smith, the founder of modern economics.

The School is proud to continue the legacy of Smith, and aims to develop enlightened, engaged, and enterprising graduates who are internationally recognised and make a positive impact on culture and society.

The School has the triple crown of accreditation and is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and the Glasgow MBA is accredited by the Association of MBAS (AMBA).

Professor Cecilia Rouse

There is more information on Professor Rouse on the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs website.

First published: 5 December 2023

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