UC Davis School of Law - Alumni & Giving - Giving - Building Initiative: About Our New Building

Giving

About Our New Building

The new King Hall will ... be exposed to the light as law and lawmaking should be in a democratic government," said Dean Rex Perschbacher. "The new King Hall will have dignity, stature, yet be open to all. (And it will) keep alive the name -- and, most importantly, the vision -- of its namesake, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose dream of legal, social, and economic justice for all is the animating vision for the School of Law at UC Davis.

Rex Perschbacher

Dean, 1998-2008

Dean Perschbacher and Chancellor Vanderhoef hosted the King Hall Expansion and Renovation Ceremonial Groundbreaking on September 29, 2007. Founding Dean Barrett joined them to usher in this new era in the School's history.

This major capital improvement project integrates a substantial addition to King Hall with renovation of key portions of the existing building. The expansion represents a 29% increase of space or approximately 18,000 assignable square feet (ASF), while the renovation covers over 25,000 ASF of existing space.

The expansion portion of the project is expected to be complete in May 2010. The renovation of the existing King Hall facility is scheduled to take place immediately after. Through expansion and renovation, the project addresses the following space and program objectives:

Adds five new classrooms, including seminar rooms and a state-of-the-art moot appellate courtroom;
Adds a new reading room and group study and reserve seating areas in the library;
Adds faculty offices allowing the creation of new teaching, research, and public service programs;
Expands skills training space;
Enhances and enlarges the courtyard for informal study groups and community gatherings;
Expands and enhances student recreation, dining, and informal gathering spaces;
Expands space for five student-run academic journals and other student organizations;
Consolidates student service and administrative offices in an improved, client-focused floor plan;
Improves circulation within King Hall;
Enhances accessibility and upgrades life-safety systems.
Incorporates sustainability features in the design, construction, and operation of the new King Hall facility.

The project integrates instructional, research, student service, administrative, and library functions into a cohesive program.

The project is supported from state funds of $17.9M, campus gift funds of $3.9M, and a private fundraising goal of $8 million. The School has raised
$5 million toward the goal and seeks an additional $3M to fund critical design alternates, technology upgrades, and additional renovation of key areas within King Hall.

Please see the following resources to learn more about our building expansion and renovation project:

Excerpts from the January 2005 Project Program PDF File
Project Planning Guide (September 2005) DOC File
Hacker Presentation (September 2006) (61MB) PowerPoint File

This information reflects our latest planning for the building project. We encourage you to check back often for updated information as our building project advances.