Frank Hauck ’81, discusses the future with Professor of Marketing and Director of the Bryant Sales Program Stefanie Boyer, Ph.D., Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., and Todd Alessandri, Ph.D., in front of the Frank ’81 and Marion ’81 Hauck Sales Performance Lab, during the university's lead donor recognition event.
Momentum for the future marks BELC Lead Donor Ceremony
Oct 30, 2024,
by Stephen Kostrzewa
If you only study the blueprints, a building like Bryant University’s new Business Entrepreneurship Leadership Center is just a collection of brick and steel and glass and wires, a structure that can be weighed and measured and quantified.
In reality, though, a building is made of people. Those who dared to dream it into being and those who gave of themselves to make it real. Their histories and hopes are laced throughout the BELC, a state-of-the-art, 250,000-square-foot facility designed to foster innovation and future-focused learning. Their ambitions give its labs and centers and offices and gathering spaces life.
And there is nothing more powerful than the will of a Bulldog.
On October 24, a Lead Donor Recognition Ceremony provided a grateful Bryant community the opportunity to thank the alumni who had made the BELC possible. But it also gave the donors a chance to share their Bryant stories, their hopes for future generations of students, and their excitement for the new building they helped bring into being.
“Today is a beautiful fall day on a beautiful New England campus,” proclaimed Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., in his opening remarks — an ideal time to reflect, be thankful, and celebrate in the company of friends. “This afternoon, we're honored to recognize the BELC’s lead donors. The generosity of the individuals we celebrate today made many of the most impactful spaces here possible. It was their funding and the vision of these donors — plus a lot of hard work of faculty and architects and facilities people and our cabinet — that made all of this happen.”
There is a rich tradition of philanthropy and woven throughout Bryant’s 161-year history, said Gittell, a tradition that continues today with these united together on this day in the BELC’s Student Organizations Space. When passion, generosity, and purpose align, he noted, it can result in great things, like the building they’re all standing in today. “The BELC is now the center of innovation on our campus and it signifies how the future should be in higher education,” he noted.
One by one, many of the BELC’s key benefactors — some of the “closest friends and supporters of the university,” Gittell noted — each rose and spoke from their heart. They shared memories, thanked mentors, and reflected on how Bryant had touched their lives. And, to a person, they radiated excitement and a powerful belief that the best was yet to come.
After the reception, the donors toured the building — eager to see their visions made manifest — led on by the administrators who would steward those visions and the current students who would take them into the future.
Here are a few scenes from throughout the day:
Ellen Wilson ’79, chair of Bryant’s Board of Trustees, shares a laugh with Inge Lise-Ameer, Ed.D, Bryant’s vice president of student affairs, dean of students, and chief diversity officer. “The recent addition of this building, the Business Entrepreneurship Leadership Center, represents our future, and the ongoing commitment of those who believe in the power of Bryant, of a Bryant education, and philanthropic leadership,” reflected Wilson, whose $5 million gift launched the Ellen Wilson Leadership Center to empower all Bryant students to explore and enrich their leadership potential.
Corey Levine ’80 and his wife Karen stop by the dining commons that bears his name. “I am so looking forward to the future of Bryant, and I hope that every student that comes through these doors can have the same experiences I had,” noted Levine. A $1 million investment from Levine and the Ettenberg Foundation, of which Levine serves as executive director, supported the development of the Corey E. Levine '80 Dining Commons.
“When students get to the BELC and they see the cool technology and they see the students interacting with the faculty, it dawns on them: ‘If I go to Bryant, I can work with the best, I can learn from the best, and I can compete against the best. And then, four years from now, when I walk underneath that Bryant archway, I can be the best,’” said Frank Hauck ’81, pictured here with Professor of Marketing and Director of the Bryant Sales Program Stefanie Boyer, Ph.D. Hauck and his wife made a transformational gift to create the Frank ’81 and Marion ’81 Hauck Sales Performance Lab, a 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art sales laboratory.
Jim Brady ’81, the namesake for the BELC’s Barbara and P. James Brady ’81 Dean’s Suite, hugs Professor Emeritus of Accounting Michael Lynch, Ph.D. Brady praised the role that his mentors, including Lynch, have played in his life, and noted that he was excited about the prominence the new building would bring to Bryant and its dedicated educators. “They used to call us a ‘best kept secret.’ That phrase is going away,” he affirmed.
“I know everyone in this room bleeds Bryant blood,” states Joe Puishys ’80, vice chair of Bryant’s Board of Trustees and campaign co-chair, to his fellow Bryant supporters. Puishys shared the joy he and his wife Kathi (Jurewicz) Puishys ’81 have found in reconnecting with their alma mater and how that renewed bond led to a desire to help Bryant reach new heights. They both are at the forefront of investment in the university’s Vision 2030 with a transformational $5 million gift.
Bruce Messier ’14, president of Butler and Messier, Inc., takes a moment to commemorate the day with Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., and Todd Alessandri, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business, in the Butler & Messier Insurance Agency Conference Room. Messier was the recipient of an Emerging Leader Award at April’s Alumni Achievement Awards Dinner. “There is so much that I recall from Bryant classes that I use in everyday life,” he noted.
Professor and Chair of the Finance department Kevin Maloney, Ph.D., gives former Bryant trustee and board chairman Michael E. Fisher ’67, ’15H a tour of the new Financial Markets Center, an experiential learning laboratory outfitted with high-tech tools, including widely utilized financial software from Bloomberg, FactSet, and MSCI.
Pepper the humanoid greets visitors to the BELC’s Artificial Intelligence Lab, a hub for students and faculty to collaborate and explore the power of AI. In addition to Pepper and his fellow humanoid NAO v6, the lab also includes a Turtlebot3, five GPU workstations, and a large array of wall-mounted digital displays.
