Butler Mansion to house programs

By JOHN DELLA CONTRADA
Reporter Contributor

Jeremy M. Jacobs, Sr., chairman and chief executive officer of Delaware North Companies, Tuesday finalized purchase of the Butler Mansion and announced that he will make the building available for use by the UB School of Management.

"I am pleased to offer the use of the mansion to the University at Buffalo," said Jacobs. "My intention for the landmark building had been to protect its integrity and preserve its historical significance. Through this partnership, the university will now have a facility that enables it to reach out to the downtown Buffalo business community to meet its needs in regards to continued professional development and education."

Lewis Mandell, dean of the School of Management, said the school will work with area corporations to provide dedicated facilities for the ongoing training of executives and highlevel managers, and will set up corporatetraining facilities to bring the latest computer technology to downtown businesses.

The school also will investigate the possibility of offering a second Executive MBA program in the mansion and may consider developing a lunchtime MBA program for downtown business people, Mandell said.

President William R. Greiner praised the longtime and valuable support of the university by Jacobs, a UB graduate who serves as chair of the UB Council, the university's local governing council. Jacobs also is a former chair, trustee and director of the UB Foundation, Inc.

The School of Management has benefited previously from the generosity of Jacobs. The school's building on the North Campus bears the Jacobs family name, in honor of a $1 million gift provided in 1985.

"This is wonderful news for the university and our School of Management," said Greiner.

"The Butler Mansion is a beautiful, historic building in the heart of Buffalo's business district; it will make an excellent executive-education center, a facility that will enable us to expand our School of Management programs to better serve the needs of the Western New York business community," he said.

Greiner added: "We are extremely grateful to Jeremy Jacobs and the Jacobs family for their generosity in making the Butler Mansion available to UB."

Jacobs will maintain ownership of the mansion, located on the corner of Delaware Avenue and North Street.

A Buffalo architectural landmark, the threestory, 40room mansion was built in 1899 by Buffalo banker and leather manufacturer George L. William, who commissioned Stanford White of the prestigious New York City architectural firm McKim, Mead and White for its design.

Jacobs stated that he acquired the mansion in 1979 and spent more than $6 million restoring it. "The mansion served as our company's headquarters in the 1980s, before we sold it to the Varity Corporation in 1991. It played a significant role in the history of Delaware North, as its location served as the genesis for the name of our company."

Varity maintained the building in impeccable condition and fully wired it for computer technology, which means that the school easily can move its programs into the building, Greiner said.

"Outreach to businesses, particularly in downtown Buffalo, is a priority for the school." Mandell said. "The mansion will enable us to meet increased demand for programs from organizations all over the world.

"Motorola is sending its executives to Buffalo for the final semester of a new Executive MBA program we've launched in China, and Samsung in Korea has contracted with the school for training of its informationtechnology managers."

Many of the nation's top business schools, Mandell added, have recognized the logistical and marketing value of providing executive development programs in facilities separate from those used for undergraduate and graduate programs.

"Our executive programs now will be offered in what is probably the most elegant and architecturally beautiful building being used by any business school in the country," said Mandell. "We now are far better able to meet the executivetraining needs of our corporate customers."