Publix CEO donates funds
for business school commons

Howard M. Jenkins, chairman and CEO of Publix Super Markets Inc., and an alumnus and trustee, has donated $3.6 million to the Goizueta Business School. The gift will be used to underwrite the construction costs of the courtyard and student commons area of the new business school building scheduled to open this summer.

"The Howard M. Jenkins Courtyard and Commons will be the student centerpiece and heart of the new Goizueta Business School building," said Dean Ron Frank. "Our curriculum places a great deal of emphasis on teamwork since it is the name of the game in today's business environment," he said. "I am grateful that Howard Jenkins saw the value in supporting teamwork with his generous gift for the Jenkins Courtyard and Commons. It will be a place where small groups of students can work together on projects and where faculty and students can meet between classes."

The commons area will include eating and study space. The perimeter of the open area will contain study "banquettes"-areas designed like restaurant booths that will permit up to eight students at a time to discuss case studies. There will be five small break-out rooms large enough for groups of eight students to work together privately. The commons area also includes a 200-seat auditorium and the student service center.

The open-air courtyard also will be the principal link between the business school and the rest of the campus. Since the new building occupies one of the primary public entrances to the University, the courtyard will serve as a welcoming space for visitors. Outside seating will allow students to eat and study in the courtyard.

The rest of the new building will provide 119,000 square feet of space, more than doubling the size of the Rich Building. In addition, it is designed to allow for the interactive, discussion-oriented teaching methods that are the hallmark of the business school's curriculum.

Jenkins, 45, graduated from Emory in 1975 and has been a member of Emory's Board of Trustees since 1990. Following his graduation from Emory College, he became vice president of research and development at Publix in 1976 and CEO in 1990.

-Jan Gleason


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