The Story of the New Dorms...

A model of one of the new dorms (Haverford)

Gather around for I will be telling a fun tale! The story of the NEW DORMS!!! (well, specifically how they are being funded)

Most of us know the basics: wealthy alum donates money... Haverford constructs shiny new buildings... shiny new buildings are emphasized on campus tours... etc.

Yet, what is the real story? Where did these millions come from? Arms Deals? Blood Diamonds? Drug Trafficking?

Well, that last one is actually half-right. This is because the major gift for the construction of the Tritton dorm (named for Tom Tritton the president preceding Emerson) came from the family foundation of Steve Jaharis, Class of '82.
Jaharis is a family medical practitioner in Illinois. "Wait!" you might say, "How did a simple general practitioner get $10 million?" Well, the foundation is mainly funded by Michael Jaharis, Steve's dad and founder of several successful pharmaceutical companies, who is currently worth $1.9 billion. So, essentially yes drugs=Tritton.

Michael Kim's $7.5 million for his dorm, which will be named Kim, came from a common source for many large grants of money from Haverford alums, namely the exciting world of finance! Kim, Class of '85, Harvard Business School graduate, and Fulbright scholar, founded one of the largest private equity groups in South Korea, MBK Partners. Pretty cool. So, Kim=Private Equity.

To summarize: Rich Haverford alums... like all of our alumni... ROCK!!!

Ca$h Money (Bankaholic.com)

For more information about Michael Kim or the Kim dorm:
http://www.mbkpartnerslp.com/test/team.asp?tar=sub_michael
http://www.haverford.edu/news/stories/43081/51

For more information about the Jaharis family or the Tritton dorm:
http://www.haverford.edu/news/stories/30861/51
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/10/billionaires-2010_Michael-Jaharis_5YGH.html

Ridiculous Alum of the Day: John C. Whitehead

We all know the Whitehead Campus Center... however have you ever wondered about the life story of the guy who it was named after? Well, John C. Whitehead has had a pretty awesome life so far.

The Ever Suave John C. Whitehead

To briefly summarize:

• Haverford Class of 1943, Harvard Business School Class of 1947 (Fun fact: he was first appointed as a professor at Harvard... and then he got his MBA... badass)
• Served in the US Navy where commanded 54 men ... at 21 years of age (liberal arts education?)
• Rose up the ranks at Goldman Sachs to become the Co-Chairman and Co-Senior Partner
• Served as the United States Deputy Secretary of State during the Ronald Reagan administration.
• Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, United Nations Association, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 
• Head of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation after 9/11
• Won a massive amount of awards for serving his country     including the Presidential Citizens Medal and many honorary doctorates 

So... in short: He ran the biggest and most important investment bank in the world, played a key role in 80s foreign policy, and led Ground Zero reconstruction efforts among other things. Wow.

An older... but still suave John C. Whitehead

For more about John C. Whitehead:

Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Whitehead

Harvard Business School Profile: http://www.hbs.edu/entrepreneurs/pdf/johnwhitehead.pdf