IU Graduate Center Gets ‘Limited-Time’ Name
David and Cecile Wang (photo courtesy Indiana University)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA space inside the recently-completed Paul H. O’Neill Graduate Center at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Bloomington has a new name, but only for a short time. The second-floor student study and meeting space will be known as the David and Ceclile Wang Commons for the next 10 years.
David and Cecile Wang donated $1 million in a limited-time naming deal, the first of its kind for IU. David Wang serves on the SPEA advisory board and was chair of the school’s Dean Council when plans for the graduate center were announced. He says he and his wife were pleased to support the school’s students.
"What we didn’t want to do is tie the hands of the school’s leaders," said Wang. "The space may need to be updated or repurposed at some point, and we want SPEA’s dean to have the complete discretion to do so."
The university says limited-time naming deals are rare at universities, despite being more popular outside higher education.
IU broke ground on the Paul H. O’Neill Graduate Center in January 2016. The university will hold a formal dedication ceremony for the facility March 24.