UB School of Management Names Undergraduate Mezzanine in New Alfiero Center to Honor Alumna for $75,000 Gift

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The undergraduate mezzanine in the new Alfiero Center to be built at the University at Buffalo School of Management will be named in honor of MarySue French, of Strongsville, Ohio, who has made a gift of $75,000 to the school.

"It's very important to me that our undergraduates have a first-class place where they can work with each other and network," said French, who remembers sitting in the basement of Crosby Hall on the South Campus when she was a student at UB. "Developing soft skills is such a critical part of the management education process and I hope that the undergraduate mezzanine will provide an atmosphere that is conducive to doing so."

Construction of the School of Management's Alfiero Center will begin this spring. The 23,000-square-foot, three-story facility will be the first largely private-donor-supported building on UB's campus, and one of few in the State University of New York system. The undergraduate mezzanine on the second floor of the new center, like an MBA mezzanine on the third floor, will overlook the building's multi-story atrium.

French, who received her bachelor's degree from the School of Management in 1980, has been a strong supporter of the school for years. She's been on the Advisory Council for the Department of Accounting and Law since 1992 and currently is its chair. In 1998, she joined the school's Dean's Advisory Council.

French has remained in contact with many of her professors, whose lessons she still values. "They didn't just teach me accounting, they taught me how to think," she explained.

She recalled a time when a test was returned to her with an error that, if corrected, would lower her grade. When she told the professor, he lowered her grade, but lauded her for her ethics and integrity.

"He gave me confidence in my own barometer," said French. "Today's corporate environment can be frightening, but it's good to know that I can trust my own instincts."

According to Diane Dittmar, assistant dean of undergraduate programs, the number of undergraduates in the School of Management has nearly doubled in the past four years. "Thanks to the philanthropy of people like MarySue French, the space we have for our undergraduates is expanding with the population," Dittmar said. "Undergraduates are an integral part of the School of Management and having a dedicated area to call their own will help them know that we think so."

French's gift is part of a $16 million campaign for the School of Management, which centers on construction of new facilities and programs to support the students and constituents of the school. The school's campaign is a component of "The Campaign for UB: Generation to Generation," now in its final phase, having raised nearly $210 million of its $250 million goal.

For information on how you can support the University at Buffalo, go to http://www.buffalo.edu/giving.