In the coming months, massive renovations to the Massey Business Center will begin, including a significant upgrade to the offices and classrooms.
These modernizing renovations will include adding a glass-enclosed atrium, enhancing the technology of the building and expanding the current program to allow students and faculty to collaborate with the community.
Barbara Massey Rogers presented Belmont University with a check for $6.75 million, the lead gift for the $10 million renovation, in a private event held in the Massey Boardroom Thursday.
Rogers is the daughter of Jack C. Massey, for whom the building is currently named. Rogers presented the money to President Bob Fisher and College of Business Dean Pat Raines in her father’s memory.
Massey made significant contributions to Belmont until his death in 1990. His family is proud to continue this tradition of giving through the Jack C. Massey Foundation, and the family collectively is among the university’s largest contributors to date.
“To honor the more than $30 million that Belmont has received through the years from the Massey Foundation and family members, the College of Business Administration will now be the Jack C. Massey College of Business,” said Raines during the check unveiling.
The goal of the new college of business is to honor the legacy of hard work and entrepreneurship left by Massey. If Jack Massey were here today he would challenge us to be leaders in developing the next generation of global business leaders, said Raines.
In addition to Fisher and Raines giving speeches of acceptance, Allison Filipek, an undergraduate in the Jack C. Massey Business School, offered a few heartfelt words of thanks to the Massey family.
“Because of your generosity, I’ve been able to dream. Thank you to the Massey Foundation.Thank you for creating a place where I have been challenged. Thank you for creating a place where I have met some of my best friends and where I have been mentored by some of the incredible faculty that are here today. Thank you for creating a place that I can call home,” Filipek said through tears.
Filipek will be among the first students to experience the benefits of the renovations as she finishes her undergraduate degree and continues in the Jack C. Massey Business School of Accountancy program.
During the presentation, Fisher acknowledged the architects and construction company representatives that will be tackling the extensive project.
“They are going to be performing a miracle in a very short amount of time,” Fisher said.
Fisher thanked the family for the many gifts they have bestowed upon the university and quipped that “there would probably not even be a Belmont University without Jack Massey.”