.jpg "An artist's rendering of an interior view of the new building")
Cutco Foundation, Inc., Dresser-Rand and Iroquois Group have committed a total of $1.5 million to St. Bonaventure University’s School of Business Campaign, the university announced today.
The leadership support, which includes $750,000 from Dresser-Rand ($500,000 from the company and $250,000 from Dresser-Rand’s CEO, Vince Volpe), $500,000 from Cutco Foundation, Inc., and $250,000 from Iroquois Group, will be used for a new business center on St. Bonaventure’s 500-acre campus.
“Our community’s leading businesses have once again demonstrated a firm commitment not only to the growth of the university but to the economic strength of our region,” said Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., S.T.D., president of the university. “Cutco, Dresser-Rand and Iroquois Group understand that our School of Business, if properly resourced, will continue its major contribution to the university’s stability and the region’s progress.”
The corporate partnerships build on the investments of St. Bonaventure’s alumni, parents and friends and expand the university’s capacity to continue to be a key driver of the area’s economic engine, President Carney noted.
Vince Volpe, president and CEO of Dresser-Rand, lauded the university for its forward thinking. “St. Bonaventure continues to take strong steps into the future,” said Mr. Volpe, who serves as a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. “The construction of the new business center is a milestone for our region and is an investment in the students and the communities served by the university.”
James E. Stitt, chairman, CEO and president of Cutco Corporation, noted the company’s longstanding history with the university. “Cutco and St. Bonaventure have been partners in the Olean area for many decades, and this gift continues the tradition of support for the local community,” said Mr. Stitt. “The generosity through Cutco Foundation, Inc. will ensure a state-of-the-art business center for the Southern Tier.” 
Laurie Branch, president of Iroquois Group, praised St. Bonaventure’s commitment to educational excellence. Ms. Branch is also an adjunct professor in the School of Business and completed in June a nine-year term on the university’s board.
“Iroquois Group is proud to partner with St. Bonaventure in helping to create an environment centered on academic quality and innovation,” Ms. Branch said. “The success of this campaign will allow St. Bonaventure to keep a competitive edge and continue to attract the strongest students, many of whom have served as interns at Iroquois Group.”
The 26,000-square-foot Business Center will feature a financial services lab with electronic ticker tape, a corporate boardroom simulator, state-of-the-art classrooms, break-out areas, spaces for student collaboration and team building, vibrant space for faculty research, a dean’s suite, innovative technology uses, and a commitment to sustainability.
The center will be built south of Friedsam Library, between the Reilly Center and Plassmann Hall, and will create a new quad to promote further development of community within the campus. The facility will be integrated into the existing architectural character of campus, with terra-cotta clay tile roofing and brick to match the color and tone of the existing buildings. Lecture rooms and student spaces at the southern end of the building will offer views of “Merton’s Heart” and the surrounding hills.
Construction will begin by June 2012, with the building set to open in fall 2013.
The $15 million campaign will provide: $10 million for the construction of the new Business Center; $4 million in endowments for faculty and programmatic support to ensure a vibrant intellectual community; and $1 million for building endowment.
More than $10 million has been raised to date under the leadership of Robert Daugherty, ’77, University trustee and campaign chair.
“We are grateful for the financial commitments that have been made to date,” said Mr. Daugherty, a retired partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “Now we need the leverage of many. We need the help of our alumni, parents and friends to make this campaign a success.”
St. Bonaventure’s School of Business is one of only 5 percent of business schools worldwide to hold accreditation by the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
“We are in demand,” said Brian McAllister, dean of the School of Business, adding that some 30 percent of St. Bonaventure’s student body is composed of business majors.
“Our faculty, students and graduates have made the case for this new building,” Mr. McAllister said. “They have demonstrated through academic excellence and through success in the business realm that St. Bonaventure’s School of Business is world-class quality. Reaching our goal in this campaign will enable us to maintain and build upon our traditional strengths, as well as develop new strengths in our distinctive niches such as service learning.”
The university expects to release information about additional lead donors to the campaign as it continues toward its goal of $15 million.
Donations to the campaign may be made by visiting www.sbu.edu/bullishonbusiness/donate or by calling (800) 664-1273.
For more on the planned Business Center and the School of Business Campaign, go to www.sbu.edu/bullishonbusiness.
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About the University: Inspired for more than 150 years by the Franciscan values of individual dignity, community inclusiveness, and service, St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them.