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| Vol. 24, No. 8 | October 30, 1998 |
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| Vol. 24, No. 8 | October 30, 1998 |
Largest Public Spaces Are Renovated at Nation's Most Sought-After Women's College
It wasn't just the potted palms adorned with strings of lights that sparkled in Barnard Hall's new LeFrak Gymnasium last Wednesday night, Oct. 21.
Amidst the decorations and the polished wood were the benefactors of the refurbished space, the dedication's honored guests, Ethel S. (BC'41) and Samuel J. LeFrak. For them, it was a homecoming of sorts: the couple first met years ago in Barnard Hall.
"This is a very special night for all of us as Barnard," President Judith R. Shapiro told the crowd. "The LeFraks are important members of the Barnard family." She said their $2 million gift-which also funded the renovation of the Barnard Hall lobby-will enable Barnard to "continue to be what we have become, namely, the most sought-after women's college in the country."
Gayle Robinson, chair of the Barnard College Board of Trustees, thanked the LeFraks for revitalizing two of Barnard's largest public spaces: "Standing as they do at the entryway to the campus, they, quite literally, change the way people see the College-for the first time and every time they enter the front gates. This renovation is emblematic of the new face we are putting on the whole campus."
The gift of the Samuel J. LeFrak Foundation also will endow a scholarship fund.