Alumni donate $15 million to College of Human Ecology
In honor of a $15 million gift from Syracuse University alumni David and Rhonda Falk, the College of Human Ecology will be renamed the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
‘Mr. Falk has been a benefactor of ours for almost six years,’ said Diane Lyden Murphy, dean of the College of Human Ecology. ‘I knew he was thinking about giving more to the university. He decided not only to give the money to the sport management department but to the whole college.’
The College of Human Ecology, currently divided in eight different campus buildings, will relocate to a central location where the College of Law building currently stands, Murphy said. The move will take place after the College of Law relocates to Dineen Hall, probably in 2014, she said.
‘This gift certainly means we will have adequate academic resources, primarily a new facility where we are all in one unit,’ she said. ‘It gets us all together as a college for the very first time. It’s a very big deal to engage as a community of scholars together.’
Since the college is made up of diverse departments, having several buildings on campus makes interdisciplinary collaboration difficult, Murphy said. It’s hard for students in the school to not have one central location, she said.
The gift will also create opportunities within the college, including a distinguished lecture series, Murphy said.
The Falk Center for Sport Management was founded in 2008 with support from the Falk family, according to an SU News Sevices release from Thursday. The center combines the expertise of faculty members from many of SU’s schools and focuses on establishing a master’s degree in sport venue and event management, according to the release.
‘Sport management is David Falk’s work and legacy, and that’s in our college,’ Murphy said. ‘Naturally, he came to the sport department. As he grew to know the college better, he realized this is where he would put more of his money.’
Falk is a member of the SU Board of Trustees, in which he works on the Advancement and External Affairs and Student Affairs committees, according to the release. Falk is also the chair of the College of Human Ecology’s Sport Management Advisory Council and a founding member of the SU Advisory Board of Washington, D.C., according to the release.
Falk’s career began at ProServ in 1974, where he represented professional athletes and eventually rose to vice chairman of the company, according to the release. In 1992, he formed Falk Associates Management Enterprises to provide services to elite NBA clientele, including Michael Jordan. He also negotiated basketball’s first $100 million contract in 1996 for Alonzo Mourning of the Miami Heat and served as the executive producer for the movie ‘Space Jam.’
Rhonda is a 1974 SU graduate. David and Rhonda met during their time as SU students, according to the release. The family’s connection to the school spans two generations because David and Rhonda’s daughter, Jocelyn, graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2010, according to the release.
The Falk’s partnership with the university began in 1998 with the Pearl W. Falk Endowed Chancellor’s Scholarship — named after David’s mother — which assisted SU students from public schools in the Washington, D.C., area, according to the release.
Said Murphy: ‘Since David’s mother was a teacher, this is where he and his wife decided they were going to put their money.’
Published on March 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Contact Meghin: medelane@syr.edu | @meghinwithani
