A $15 million gift from a trustee of the University of Southern California (USC) will fund complete renovation of a building that will serve as a new center for the Marshall School of Business’s international efforts, the school announced yesterday.
The gift, from USC trustee Thomas J. Barrack Jr. and his family, will transform Bridge Hall, which served as the Marshall School’s first building when it was built in 1928. In recognition of the generous donation, it will be renamed Barrack Hall.
The building will retain its Italian Romanesque exterior, but its interior will be completely reimagined to serve as a state-of-the-art home for all of Marshall’s international business programs, the school reports. The configuration of the offices, classrooms, research centers and gathering areas will be designed to encourage collaboration and dialogue between students, faculty and guest lecturers, and cutting-edge tools and digital technology will support distance learning and communication from points throughout the world.
“The Barrack family’s exceptionally generous gift will bolster our Marshall School of Business and its faculty and students and revitalize one of the school’s key facilities for generations to come,” USC President C. L. Max Nikias said in a statement.
Barrack is the founder, chairman and CEO of Los Angeles‒based Colony Capital LLC, one of the world’s largest private equity real estate firms. He has invested approximately $45 billion in assets worldwide and oversees a global organization that spans 13 cities in 10 countries. He is also chairman of film company Miramax and sits on the board of Carrefour S.A., a French multinational retailer and one of the world’s largest retail groups, and First Republic Bank, a full-service bank and wealth management firm.
“Education and the development of a cultural sixth sense are the keys to commerce, and commerce is the key to tolerance and understanding,” Barrack said in a statement. “As an alumnus, I feel privileged to supply stewardship for the bricks, while Marshall, its dean, administration and faculty supply the intellectual mortar.”
Learn more about Barrack and his $15 million gift to the Marshall School of Business.
