By Gordon Freas, News Correspondent
Thank you, thank you and thank you are three easy ways to summarize the main message conveyed at Friday’s ceremony celebrating the naming of the D’Amore-McKim School of Business.
Hundreds of people gathered at noon in Blackman Auditorium, shedding raincoats and folding umbrellas after the ceremony was moved inside from Krentzman Quad due to rain.
After arriving in procession clothed in traditional hats and robes, the faculty of the newly-named business school took their seats behind the friends and family of the new donors, while the board of trustees, including university President Joseph E. Aoun and Richard D’Amore and Alan McKim themselves, took their places on stage in similar garb.
Some students, like sophomore business major Vincent Qu, were given the day off from class for the ceremony.
“It’s a momentous occasion,” Qu said. “$60 million, how often does that happen?”
Qu said he was optimistic about what the donation means for the future of the school.
“When I came here, we were maybe number 10,” Qu said of the college’s national standing. “When I graduate we’ll be number one.”
Speakers at the event saw things much the same way. Aoun, Hugh Courtney, dean of the new college, and D’Amore and McKim each gave addresses and emphasized Northeastern’s reputation as a center for innovation.
“Northeastern University in the last few decades has entered into a very exclusive club among the best research institutions in the world,” said Henry Nasella, the chairman of the board of trustees, citing record-breaking admissions numbers and the hiring of new faculty.
He added, “There have been many recent articles written about the pullback during the great recession in higher education … Northeastern chose not to go down that course, but to accelerate its investment in people. I think we’re all here today because of that.”
Other speakers emphasized the spirit of the school and its institutional character.
“Drive, ambition, perseverance, risk taking and the desire to have an impact” are some of the qualities that define the university, Diane MacGillivray, senior vice president for university advancement, said in her speech.
D’Amore and McKim later described the same environment in their speeches.
“This is an entrepreneurial spirit that I think defines Northeastern, and I’m a product of this culture,” McKim said.
And every speaker noted how the gift of D’Amore and McKim will allow the school to continue along its path.
“Thanks to Rich and Alan we can advance new academic initiatives, further our investments in our global entrepreneurial approach to business education and support our faculty and students as never before,” Aoun said.
McKim voiced his confidence in the future of the school in his address.
“This is a historic day,” McKim said, “but there is much left to do, and so please join us to make this great university an ever-better place.”
The back sections of the auditorium were reserved for students who chose to attend, but few did. The sparse group that did attend were either peppered in with the crowd on the floor level, or seated with the full band on the balcony, which ushered in the crowd with tunes like “Johnny B. Goode” and “I’m a Believer.”
Students cited a number of reasons for the limited attendance. Some pointed at the size of the venue, while others, like sophomore business major Thomas Porter, suggested that his classmates had different priorities on a weekend.
“I mean it’s noon on a Friday and classes are canceled,” Porter said.
The bulk of the event was dedicated to honoring the actual sources of the endowment. During the ceremony D’Amore and McKim were presented with framed official certificates announcing the new name of the college, medals honoring their “steadfast commitment” to the university, and even over-sized ceremonial keys to the the college.
The ceremonious atmosphere quickly became festive with confetti cannons firing, a balloon drop, a visit from school mascot Paws and a synchronized aerial ribbon acrobatics performance.
After the event, the crowd funneled out and into the Curry Student Center where a fully catered reception awaited them along with a showcase of all the student organizations in the school of business, including the Women in Business Club, the NU Social Enterprise Institute and the Family Business Club.
Student representatives from each group offered information on their organization’s goals and activities. Though none of them were sure if D’Amore and McKim’s endowment will affect them directly, one student had an idea for how the school should use the money.
“They should invest in programs that they know work,” sophomore business administration major Melissa Chan said. “Like the IDEA program [Northeastern’s entrepreneurial venture accelerator]. There are so many creative minds with great ideas, and all they’re lacking is the capital to get started.”
