The building was modeled after Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda on the grounds of the University of Virginia.

Named for Charles Grawemeyer, a major benefactor to the university, the building now houses mostly administrative offices including the office of the university's president.

Consortium members Frederic L. Morgan and Arthur G. Tafel were chiefly responsible for the design.

[2] On the steps of the building rests one of the original castings of Auguste Rodin's The Thinker.

This casting is one of the few originals in the United States and the only one in the American South.