Published on December 8, 2025 by Catherine Smith  
Students In Cooney

In 2015, a bold vision took shape on Samford’s campus: Cooney Hall, the home of Brock School of Business, opened with the promise to prepare future business leaders through innovation, collaboration and purpose.

 From the start, Cooney Hall was designed as a next-generation space. Its soaring glass atrium, Stifel/Merchant Capital Portfolio Management Room with Bloomberg terminals and student study areas set a new standard for business education. Over the past decade, the building has been further adapted to meet the growing needs of Samford business students and become a hub for real-world, experiential learning.

Within its walls, Cooney Hall provides students with the resources and collaborative spaces they need to excel. Business concentrations such as real estate, risk management and insurance, and the sports industry program benefit from specialized labs, including the Fairway Commercial Real Estate Lab, Alfa Risk Management and Insurance Lab, and the M. Chad Trull/ Krowten Capital LLC Data & Sports Analytics Lab.

 Entrepreneurship programming has also flourished. What began as a small incubator program has grown into Samford Startup, now supported by the Titus/United Franchise Group Innovation Lab. “As a member of Samford Startup, Cooney Hall has given me more than an education—it has given me the confidence and tools to start my own business while still in college,” said senior Alex Dickey.

Rusty Yerkes, chair of the Department of Economics, Finance and Quantitative Analysis and the Thomas J. Adams Sr./AutoTec Professor of Risk Management and Insurance, noted that enrollment has nearly tripled since moving into the space. “When we opened Cooney Hall, we signaled to the world we are serious about being the best,” he said. “It has allowed us to recruit students, faculty and staff we otherwise would not have had space for, and it provides an amazing environment for collaboration, learning and community.”

Named for Gary Cooney ‘74, retired vice chairman of McGriff, Seibels and Williams Inc., Cooney Hall was made possible through his transformative lead gift. At the dedication, Cooney described the building as “bricks and mortar, combined with heart and soul.”

 

This story was first published in the fall 2025 issue of Samford. You can read the issue online.

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford is widely recognized as having one of the most beautiful campuses in America, featuring rolling hills, meticulously maintained grounds and Georgian-Colonial architecture. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.