Senator John Glenn joined Elon students, faculty, staff and friends at the site dedication ceremony for the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center on Thursday, April 14.
The dedication ceremony was held at the construction site adjacent to the McMichael Science Center parking lot.
Elon President Leo M. Lambert offered welcoming remarks and thanked Maurice Koury and his brother, Ernest A. Koury Sr. “They never seek the limelight or want attention called to their generosity,” Lambert said. In 2001, Maurice Koury made a major gift to Elon in honor of Ernest, launching the campaign to build the new business center.
“The Koury Business Center will be transformative in many ways,” Lambert said. “Its teaching spaces will be some of the best on campus, and it will help Elon reach out to the larger community.”
Dr. Jim Powell, who chaired the campaign for the Koury Business Center, expressed his gratitude to the project’s many donors.
“It was a pleasure for me to serve as chairman of the Koury Business Center campaign,” Powell said. “Thanks to the generosity of many, many people and organizations represented here today, more than $9.5 million has been raised.”
Senator Glenn reminded students to follow the example set by the Kourys. “Almost all successful business people do something to give back to the community,” Glenn said. “I hope you will do the same.”
Following the program, members of the community were invited to sign a steel column that will later be incorporated into the building. Music was provided by the Elon Wind Ensemble.
Koury Business Center will be the new home of Elon’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business when it opens in fall 2006. The three-story, 60,000-square-foot facility will include the LaRose Digital Theater, which will be wired for video conferencing and multimedia presentations; the LabCorp Suite for Executive Education; the William Garrard Reed Finance Center with real-time data from global financial markets; the James B. and Anne Ellington Powell Lobby; and the Wallace L. Chandler Fountain and Plaza. The center will also feature computer labs, research spaces, and classrooms and breakout rooms designed to enhance group discussions and activities.
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