For those of you who are confused (and don’t spend a ton of time on Twitter or email), here’s what’s up: For the past several years, we’ve been attending classes in 41 Wyllys, which older alumni reading this probably remember as the former squash courts building. For whatever reason, it took almost half a decade to name this piece of real estate, but as of May 2016, that’s about to change.
Today, President Michael Roth announced that 41 Wyllys is to be renamed Boger Hall after Joshua Boger ’73, who has served as the chair of Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees since 2009. Student and alumni reaction has already been mixed, with lots of comments about boogers, Boger’s interactions with students during the need-blind protests, Boger being a pharmaceutical magnate, and the fact that Boger chaired a fundraising event with Bill Cosby in 2010 (#womp).
Only time will tell if this re-naming will be as controversial as that of Bennet Hall (renamed after Douglas Bennet ’59, the dude who was in office before Roth and incredibly disliked, apparently), but for now, congrats to Bogus—I MEAN BOGER.
Anyways, you can read Roth’s email after the jump.
Hi [generic name generator],
The building at 41 Wyllys on College Row is about to get a new name!
Joshua Boger ’73, P’06, P’09 has served as chair of Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees since 2009. Founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and current executive chairman of Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Joshua is one of our nation’s leading entrepreneurial scientists. Wesleyan’s mission statement speaks of “boldness, rigor, and practical idealism,” and these qualities—so evident in Joshua’s commitment to curing diseases—are evident, too, in the guidance he has provided to our university. Wesleyan has gained much from his wisdom, unflagging enthusiasm, and singular grace.
During his time as chair, Wesleyan has had its most successful fundraising campaign ever: the THIS IS WHY campaign, which comes to its triumphant conclusion on June 30. Joshua, who retires as chair at that time, and his wife, Amy P’06, P’09, have contributed an extraordinary $20 million to the campaign—including $11 million to establish an endowed scholarship program for Wesleyan students and a gift to create the Joshua Boger University Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics. More about the many ways Joshua and Amy have supported Wesleyan can be found here.
For the Boger family’s enduring contributions and outstanding service to the university, Wesleyan is proud to announce the naming of Boger Hall—the architectural award-winning and LEED “Platinum” certified building at the heart of campus that houses our state-of-the-art Career Center, along with the College of Letters and the Paoletti Art History Wing.
The formal dedication ceremony of Boger Hall will take place in May 2016, during our Reunion & Commencement celebration.
Warm regards,
Michael S. Roth
President
wouldn’t it be nice to have something on campus named after a woman?
Quick fact check: While a majority of the named buildings on campus are dedicated to men, there are indeed some named buildings in honor of women. As seen above, Boger Hall will be named after both Joshua and Amy Boger. Usdan University Center is named after Suzanne Lemberg Usdan. Davison Arts Center is named after Harriet and George Davison. I also believe there will be two more buildings soon named after women. The general point stands, but be careful of erasing the women that are honored here!