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Hundreds of alumni and friends of Chicago GSB gathered in the winter garden November 6 to dedicate the Hyde Park Center, but by the time the ceremonial ribbon was cut, the space had a new name: the Rothman Winter Garden.
Robert Rothman, ’77, announced he would increase his gift to the GSB to $20 milliongenerosity applauded by dean Edward A. Snyder as well as Dennis Keller, ’68, co-chair of the GSB Campaign.
Rothman said, I'm thrilled to be able to make this commitment today. The chairman and CEO of Black Diamond Capital and a member of the GSB Advisory Council, Rothman helped create momentum early in the campaign with a gift of $12 million. He was among donors who spoke earlier during the dedication. My experience at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business was the beginning of a personal transformation. I quickly came to appreciate just how much we enjoy today that was made possible by the generosity of others who have come before us, Rothman said. When I left, I felt energized. It was a battery charge that lasted over 20 years. I was filled with this notion that everything is possible, and possible without compromising integrity. That’s what the University of Chicago means to me, he said.
Snyder, who urged the crowd to stay seated after the ribbon cutting for a special announcement, said, The center line in the winter garden of our Hyde Park Center is now our meridian line. Today on this historic day, I would suggest that the prime meridian for management education is right here. As Jim Kilts, [’74,] said earlier, when you consider what our faculty have done in developing ideas that have changed the world, and what our alumni have done to strengthen enterprises in all sectors and all functions around the globe, it’s clear on objective terms the GSB has done more than any other business school to build enterprises, to improve business performance, to increase the efficiency of markets, and thereby strengthen the global economy.
This prime meridian of management education relates well to how President [Don Michael] Randel eloquently describes the values of the University of Chicago the fixed point on the horizon that guides us. The University of Chicago is indeed the truest of the true.
It is extremely fitting that this winter garden, the space we enjoy on this special morningour new vertical landmark, the platform for the GSB community in Hyde Park , the winter garden whose gothic references span the prime meridian for management educationwill be named in honor of a GSB alum who represents so well the character of the GSB.
Keller added, It gives me great pleasure to announce the naming of the winter garden in honor of someone who has achieved and who is achieving great success in his career, a person who feels deeply about the value of the GSB and the University of Chicago, and the values for which they stand, a person who is modest, a person whose philanthropy seeks nothing for himself and seeks only to support activities and institutions that make a positive difference in our world.
This GSB alum, wasn’t born with all this money. He worked to create it, and he makes this contribution to our business school just as he is coming into the prime of his career. I can hardly wait to see what he’ll accomplish in the rest of it. He indeed represents so well the values of the GSB, Keller said. So today we are pleased to announce that henceforth, this space will be known as the Rothman Winter Garden.
Rothman said, I hope that by giving, it will encourage others to give.
Patty Houlihan