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American University has long been known for its entrepreneurial spirit, and the Kogod School of Business visibly embodies that spirit as the oldest collegiate school of business in Washington, D.C.
On April 19, Kogod dean Richard Durand and nearly 100 alumni, faculty, and select students, celebrated the renovations underway that will convert the former Butler Instructional Center and Experimental Theatre into new space for the business school. The special event, held in conjunction with the seventh annual dean’s dinner, was staged amidst the bare bones and walls of the building while it’s under construction to show the progress and needs of the school.
When completed in fall 2008, the new Kogod space will add an additional 20,000 square feet to the existing building. The project will give the exterior a new facade, add an additional floor, and allow students to attend nearly all Kogod classes in one building. The expansion will add seven new classrooms, two seminar rooms, three break-out rooms, a career management center, a student lounge area, and a financial services and information technology lab.
Naming benefactor Bob Kogod ’62 was presented with Kogod’s Community Leadership Award and this framed watercolor of the new building in appreciation for his generosity to AU at the annual dean’s dinner on April 19.
The Kogod School of Business is a far stretch from the program that the school’s top benefactor, Bob Kogod ’62, experienced during his time at AU. “By investing in the planned expansion of the academic building, we can leverage the unique strengths of Kogod in ways that enhance the school’s ability to provide students with a world-class education—one that gives them the technology and the opportunity not only to learn business in the classroom but to experience the realities of business from Wall Street to Main Street,” says Kogod.
But the real-time demands of today’s business world require more than classroom space. “As we compete with other business schools for the best and brightest faculty and students, it has become increasingly clear that conventional approaches to business education no longer meet the marketplace,” says Kogod dean Richard Durand.
Thanks to a team effort by Durand, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, fund raising for the building expansion has been steady. “In addition to Bob Kogod’s lead gift of $9.5 million, we have an additional $1 million in gift agreements and verbal commitments,” says Diane Myers, director of development at Kogod.
Alumni donors who have stepped up for the building expansion include: Doug Dooley, Kogod/BSBA ’77; Gary Veloric, Kogod/BSBA ’82; Paul Bachow, Kogod/BS ’73; Michael Kushner, Kogod/BSBA ’92, MS ’95; Robert and Edythe Fensterman, both Kogod/BSBA ’81; and former AU roommates Eli Futerman, SPA/BA ’80; and Marc Duber, Kogod/BSBA ’81. Futerman, Duber, and their alumnae wives—Peggy Lerner Futerman, SPA/BA ’79, and Nancy Seresky Duber, CAS/BGS ’82—decided to make a joint gift to the university.
“It’s our way of saying thank you to the university for all it did for us,” says Mark Duber. “Specifically, Nancy and I met there; I met one of my business partners there, Stuart Bernstein; and I’m originally from Cleveland so it brought me to Washington. Eli and Peggy met at AU, also. So AU gave me my wife, my career, a great friend, and a wonderful education. What more could you ask for?” To support the Kogod School of Business, make a gift at www.giving.american.edu/ and choose the Kogod School of Business as your Area of Benefit. Or, contact Diane Myers, director of development, at 202-885-1884 or dsmyers@american.edu. |
