The University at Albany unveiled the signage for its Massry Center for Business last week, named in honor of the Capital District’s Massry Family.
UAlbany President Robert J. Jones declared that its School of Business building will be named in honor of the family and their longstanding support of the University.
“We are proud to name this extraordinary facility for the Massry family in honor of their unprecedented gift,” said Jones. “Their generosity will be felt across this institution as the School of Business strengthens our entrepreneurial ecosystem, and throughout the Capital Region as we prepare graduates with the skills, mindset, and real-world experiences to be the business leaders of the future.”
Last December the University of Albany received a $5.25 million gift — the largest gift bestowed upon the school — from the Massry family to support the School of Business, as well as key University-wide initiatives.
“Having had the pleasure of working with Morris Massry on the Foundation’s Board of Directors for many years, I have witnessed firsthand his family’s dedication to the Capital Region,” said UAlbany Foundation President George R. Hearst III. “I would like to personally thank Morris, Norman and the entire Massry family for their belief in UAlbany’s excellence. This is a fitting tribute to their generosity.”
In addition to ensuring the new School of Business building remains a state-of-the-art resource, the gift will be used to fund the Massry Lecture Series, conferences and visiting faculty to enrich the academic experience of School of Business students. The inaugural Massry Lecture, held this past March, featured Benjamin Lawsky, who at the time served as New York’s Superintendent of the Department of Financial Service.
The Massry Center for Business, which opened in August 2013, has been ranked as the fourth most beautiful business school building in the world, higher than facilities at most of America’s leading research universities, such as Duke, MIT, Cornell, Columbia, NYU, UC-Berkeley, University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan. US New & World Report has cited UAlbany’s School of Business as No. 1 in the country for two consecutive years for job placement for full-time MBA students, while the Princeton Review has ranked the master’s in business administration degree program ninth in the nation for offering “the greatest Opportunity for Women.”