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The renovation project should be complete by fall 2023, according to a University release.
Officials will use a $2.5 million alumni gift to update technology and classrooms in Duquès Hall at the School of Business, according to a release Wednesday.
The release states that Henry “Ric” and Dawn Duquès donated $2.5 million to update technology and physical spaces in Duquès Hall. The project should be complete by the fall 2023 semester, according to the release.
Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the business school, said the gift will “dramatically elevate” the teaching and learning experience.
“The modernization will ensure the facility mirrors our stellar academic offerings and catalyzes inspiration and innovation,” he said.
The release states that the gift will sponsor construction to add “reversible seating” to the two classrooms in the building, allowing students to switch from facing the podium at the center of the room to facing students in rows behind them. The project will add new technology and update soundproofing for digital instructional content creation in the Instructional Innovation Studio.
Officials said they will use the funds from the gift to facilitate virtual and hybrid instruction and renovate the building’s lobby to promote networking.
Ric and Dawn Duquès donated $5 million to the University at their daughter’s graduation from the school in 2002.
The $5 million gift funded Duquès’ initial construction as an extension to Funger Hall. The construction project, which cost more than $50 million, moved the business school from the Hall of Government to Duquès.
Duquès initially opened in January 2006. The University last updated the building this summer with the addition of a gender-neutral restroom.
Ric Duquès attended GW’s undergraduate program through a basketball scholarship. He has since been chosen to become a member of GW’s Monumental Alumni and a Trustee Emeritus. Duquès said he “had no way to pay” to attend GW in 1961.
“The University invested in me,” Duquès said in the release. “It seems very appropriate to Dawn and me that we share some of our success with GW.”
Dawn Duquès previously served as a member of the National Council for the Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
“The Duquès name is synonymous with excellence,” Interim University President Mark Wrighton said. “We are grateful for the family’s continued commitment to invest in the George Washington University and for their recognition that our excellence is greatly enhanced by the contributions and engagement of our alumni.”
This article appeared in the October 10, 2022 issue of the Hatchet.
