C.M. "Bill" Gatton, noted philanthropist and alumnus of UK's Gatton College of Business and Economics, witnessed the progress being made on his namesake building with a tour of the site on Monday, May 11. Gatton was joined by Larry Burkholder, senior project lead from Skanska USA Inc.; the construction company overseeing the Gatton College building renovation, along with representatives from the college and the University of Kentucky.

“It was exciting to be able to show Mr. Gatton the wonderful changes that have been made on the building since his previous visit,” said Randy Pratt, senior director of development and advancement. “The amount of progress that has been made is astounding. We are now at a point where drywall is going up, carpet is being installed, and it was fantastic that Mr. Gatton was on hand to witness these stages firsthand.”

Among the changes that caught Gatton’s attention was the sheer size of the new Kincaid Auditorium, a 500 seat, state-of-the-art classroom, named to recognize the generous donation of Joan Kincaid and Central Bank.

“The auditorium will not only serve the Gatton College as a state of the art classroom, but the entire university as a whole,” says Pratt. “It was a really special moment to be there with him as he examined the auditorium space in particular. It really reinforces the power and scope of [Bill’s] amazing philanthropic influence on this entire university.”  

The first phase of the Gatton United building renovation project is scheduled to be completed on August 1.