Gift to fund new SOM student center
Haubers donate $500,000 for state-of-the-art facility to be located in Jacobs addition

By JOHN DELLA CONTRADA
Reporter Contributor

An alumnus of the School of Management has given $500,000 to the school for construction of a state-of-the-art student center.

To be named after donor J. Grant Hauber and his wife, Marcia, the student center will be the signature facility within a three-story addition planned for the School of Management's present building, the Jacobs Management Center, located on UB's North Campus.

Construction of the addition, as well as the student center, is scheduled to begin in 2002 using funds raised by alumni and friends of the UB School of Management.

A Buffalo resident and a native of St. Marys, Penn., Hauber attended UB on the GI Bill, graduating in 1948 with a degree in business administration.

After graduation he began a successful 45-year career as vice president and portfolio manager at Harold C. Brown Co. Inc., a Buffalo financial-services firm.

Recently retired, Hauber says he chose to fund construction of the student center as a way to provide future generations of UB students with an inspirational atmosphere in which to study business.

"Students need a place of their own to explore ideas, talk about the concepts they learn in the classroom and socialize," Hauber says. "They need to know how to express their ideas to colleagues and coworkers if they are to be successful in their careers."

According to Lewis Mandell, dean of the School of Management, the J. Grant and Marcia S. Hauber Student Center will be designed with formal and informal meeting and conference rooms where students can discuss and prepare team projects, practice classroom presentations and organize student clubs. Internet links and computer stations will be installed throughout the student center to give students around-the-clock access to business research.

"The generosity of the Haubers will enable us to meet the needs of students in ways that far exceed the capabilities of our present facility," says Mandell. "Our students soon will have a wonderful venue for learning the lessons of modern business-how to work in teams, communicate effectively, think on your feet and use technology strategically."