A new 44,000-square-foot addition currently under construction at the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration’s Mammel Hall will be named the Rod Rhoden Business Innovation Center.

The naming was approved by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents last month to recognize the gift of the Rod Rhoden Foundation, one of three lead gifts for the project along with the Mammel Foundation and the Union Pacific Foundation.

The addition will be completed this spring and will serve as a central hub for applied learning, community engagement and research in business education.

“When we say that Omaha is our campus, it also means fostering relationships, ideas and innovations that can help our city, state and region grow,” UNO Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold said in a news release. “The Rod Rhoden Business Innovation Center will promote growth and big ideas that will change the world. We are grateful for the generosity of our donors to make this a reality.”

The center will feature a new Entrepreneurship Lab that will support UNO’s Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Franchising; the newly-formed School of Accounting; the CBA Scholars Academy; a new business activity center dedicated to public events; and the home for the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center of Excellence.

The new space will expand Mammel Hall a decade after it opened to serve business students on UNO’s Scott Campus. Mammel Hall itself was primarily funded by Omaha businessman and philanthropist Carl Mammel. Mammel pledged $10 million to support the addition, encouraging others to step up. Rhoden responded to this challenge by making a major gift, according to a university news release.

Rhoden is a 1967 UNO business graduate of UNO and has been a leader in entrepreneurship and business for nearly 50 years.

Since returning to Omaha in 1971 he has been a major investor in auto dealerships and real estate ventures in the greater Omaha area. He currently has interest in four auto dealerships in Omaha and Lincoln employing more than 300 people. Rhoden also maintains interests in more than 6,000 acres of southwest Iowa farmland.

“I had no idea that my attending UNO prompted with a retail scholarship sponsored by Brandeis Department Stores would lead to my business and investment career centered around the Omaha community,” Rhoden said in a release. “It is humbling and special for me to be a part of this effort, which I know will be a game changer for the College of Business Administration, UNO and the Omaha community.”

Rhoden received the UNO Alumni Citation in 1995 and was inducted as a UNO College of Business Administration Distinguished Alumnus in 2011. His auto dealerships have been active in supporting the athletics programs at both UNO and UNL for more than 35 years.

Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, also made a major contribution to the initiative. In recognition, the college’s outdoor gathering space will be named the Union Pacific Plaza.

“Union Pacific is proud to continue its longstanding relationship with UNO as we work to prepare students for the workforce of today and tomorrow,” Scott Moore, Union Pacific senior vice president-corporate relations, chief administrative officer and foundation president, said in a release. “Providing high-quality facilities and opportunities like those offered at the Rod Rhoden Business Innovation Center is a great way to keep Nebraska’s top talent right here in our community.”

The University of Nebraska Foundation is continuing its fundraising efforts for the project, and naming opportunities remain available within Mammel Hall and within the Rod Rhoden Business Innovation Center.