BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana State University plans this summer to begin building a $63 million Business Education Complex that Chancellor Sean O'Keefe calls "critically important to being a top-tier business school in the country."

But the university still must raise $17 million of a $30 million private match in the coming months to meet that target. The state has pledged $30 million, and the rest would be paid by LSU.

O'Keefe said he's optimistic. "I'm heading back to donors saying, 'The time is now to do this,"' he said, adding he doesn't want the project to be delayed due to problems securing the private funds.

That planned private match, he said, moved the state to make the project a priority rather than put off construction until "sometime next generation," he said.

The LSU Board of Supervisors approved design plans for the planned 153,000-square foot complex, which would include two rows of classroom buildings, a large auditorium and a centerpiece four-floor rotunda.

The rotunda would feature such things as common areas and space for administrative and other offices. Former board member Roger Ogden, a developer, said it would provide a "wow factor" to impress prospective students and investors.

O'Keefe said the facility would "elevate the university overall, which is a major objective."

A landscape services building and LSU Agricultural Center lab would be torn down, though O'Keefe said space for both could be relocated.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://www.2theadvocate.com

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)