Bernard Spitzer, ’43, Gives $25 Million To CCNY School Of Architecture

President Williams Recommends to Chancellor Goldstein Naming School in Honor of Bernard and Anne Spitzer

NEW YORK, March 25, 2009 – Bernard Spitzer, a 1943 engineering graduate of The City College of New York (CCNY) and prominent real estate developer, is giving $25 million to City College for the benefit of the College’s School of Architecture.  The gift will be provided through the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust.

The gift was announced today by Dr. Matthew Goldstein, ’63, Chancellor of The City University of New York (CUNY), at a news conference held to kick off CUNY’s new capital campaign.  CCNY President Dr. Gregory H. Williams has recommended to Chancellor Goldstein that the CUNY Board of Trustees name the CCNY architecture school The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture.

“We are deeply grateful to Bernard and Anne Spitzer for their generous gift, which will have a transformative effect on City College's highly regarded School of Architecture as it moves to its new home,” said Chancellor Goldstein in announcing the gift.  

“A ‘sturdy son’ of CCNY himself, Mr. Spitzer is enabling CUNY to offer future generations of New Yorkers the extraordinary educational opportunities he and so many other alumni were afforded at the University.  This pioneering investment in CUNY is truly an investment in New York.”

“This historic, transformative gift from Bernard and Anne Spitzer will make the City College School of Architecture one of the best in the nation,” said President Williams.  “We join with Chancellor Goldstein in expressing our heartfelt thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Spitzer for their generosity in setting an example for other alumni and friends that reinforces CCNY’s realization of its second golden age.”
 
“I strongly believe there are few things more fundamental to the common good than an educated society, and few institutions that contribute more faithfully to that overarching goal than City College,” said Mr. Spitzer. “I feel privileged to support their work, their vision and their future.” 

“Through this gift, Bernard and Anne Spitzer have given a tremendous vote of confidence that we are doing something worth supporting at a major level,” added George Ranalli, Dean of the CCNY School of Architecture.  “It will enable us to make several enhancements we could not otherwise afford that will propel us into the top tier of U.S. schools of architecture.”

The only public school of architecture in New York City, the City College School of Architecture will move into a new home on CCNY’s South Campus, designed by Rafael Viñoly.  The first classes are scheduled to be held in the building during the 2009 Summer Session.  The new facility provides 118,000 square feet of usable space, including studios, offices, classrooms, computer labs, a model shop, a library and an exhibit area.

The proceeds of the gift will support several initiatives to benefit the School’s faculty and students.  These include undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, study abroad opportunities, supplemental stipends and support for faculty research, publication and exhibitions.

The school, which was established in 1968, blends theory and practice in its curriculum, which emphasizes public architecture, especially the urban landscape, sustainability and the practical application of theory.  All of the school’s 23 full-time architecture professors have professional practices outside the classroom.  The school has approximately 300 undergraduates and 100 graduate students in its three graduate programs: architecture, urban design and landscape architecture.

Bernard Spitzer, a member of CCNY’s Class of 1943, is a prominent New York City real estate developer and commercial property owner.  He and his wife Anne, an Adjunct Professor of English Literature at Manhattan Marymount College, reside in Manhattan and Rye.  The Spitzers gave $2.1 million in 2005 to endow the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair in Political Science at The City College of New York.

About The City College of New York 
Since 1847 The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines.  Over 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; The School of Architecture; The School of Education; The Grove School of Engineering, and The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education.  For additional information, visit www.ccny.cuny.edu.