Advisors Excel Hall Transformation

Washburn University celebrated the future Advisors Excel Hall with a glass-breaking ceremony just weeks after the spring semester ended and the building was cleared out and prepared for its renovation.

“Henderson Learning Resources Center has been a cornerstone academic building at Washburn for the past 50 years,” said JuliAnn Mazachek, president, Washburn University. “We honor the legacy of President Henderson while looking forward to the future and our ability to provide an outstanding learning experience in our fully renovated modern space at Advisors Excel Hall.”

Advisors Excel Hall will continue to be a focal point of academic life at Washburn, serving as the home of the Gregory D. and Ronda K. Brenneman School of Business in addition to housing all of the College of Arts & Sciences’ social science departments as well as the mass media department. The largest academic building on campus, it will house more than 25% of all available classrooms. Read more about the renovation.

“An investment like this was important to us because we know it will help to develop career-ready graduates and attract the best and brightest students to Washburn,” said Cody Foster, ba ’99, founder, Advisors Excel. “We saw this as an opportunity to not only support Washburn and its students, but to also provide internship and workforce support to the Topeka community and beyond.” Read more about founders Foster and David Callanan, bba ’98, and their gift to the project.

The new, fully renovated Advisors Excel Hall will provide state-of-the-art spaces and features that will enhance the overall student, faculty, staff and visitor experience. Cutting edge technology and fully modernized media studios will be found throughout the building, including a new Storytelling Lab equipped with VR, AI and podcasting tools to help shape the communicators of tomorrow. It will also feature flexible classrooms that adapt to how students and instructors learn best, allowing more spaces to collaborate, study and connect.

“A Henderson Hall renovation had been a dream for a number of years,” said Marshall Meek, mba ’17, president, Washburn University Alumni Association and Foundation. “After Cody and Jennifer (ba ’99) Foster and David and Karlun Callanan stepped forward with Advisors Excel to make the lead gift for the project, so many others from the Washburn community stepped up to support the project and turn the dream into reality.”