The New School to honor Leonard and Louise Riggio at 2007 LaGuardia Award Dinner
Annual benefit raises scholarship funds for The New School
Hosted by New School President Bob Kerrey and Featuring
Keynote Speaker Bill Bradley
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Thursday, November 15, 2007, at the Mandarin Oriental New York
New York, October 1, 2007—The New School will honor Leonard Riggio, founder and chairman of Barnes and Noble, Inc., and Louise Riggio, trustee of The Riggio Foundation, at its 2007 LaGuardia Award Dinner on Thursday, November 15, at the Mandarin Oriental New York. The Fiorello H. LaGuardia Award recognizes individuals who, through their contributions to New York City, exemplify the compassion, courage, and determination of the city’s legendary mayor. At the dinner, former U.S. Senator and Author Bill Bradley will deliver a keynote speech in tribute to the Riggios. Proceeds from the evening will provide support to over 130 academic scholarships at The New School.
For table and ticket information, please contact The New School Office of Special Events at 212-229-5662 x3568/3570, [email protected], or http://www.newschool.edu/majorevents/laguardia.
As longtime philanthropists, Leonard and Louise Riggio have a rich legacy of public service and dedication to New York City. Their generous contributions have benefited numerous community organizations and charities, providing essential support for the arts, public and higher education, and human services. “Len and Louise Riggio are among New York City’s leading philanthropists,” said New School President Bob Kerrey. “Individually, they have received numerous awards and honorary degrees. Together, they generously work to support many worthwhile initiatives in arts, literacy, and public education.”
The Riggios have also been generous benefactors of The New School. In September 2006, through their support, The New School launched the Leonard and Louise Riggio Writing and Democracy initiative, an innovative pilot program based on strengthening the links between civic engagement and the skills of reading, writing, and rhetoric. A collaborative effort between the Writing and Bachelor’s Programs of The New School for General Studies and the Writing Program of Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, the initiative will establish a new standard for preparing undergraduate students, as emerging writers and citizens, to be agents of constructive change in the world of ideas and within their communities.
Event chairs for the LaGuardia Dinner include co-chairs The American International Group, Inc.; Robert R. Dyson, The Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation; Steve Riggio, Barnes & Noble, Inc.; and Julien J. Studley, The Julien J. Studley Foundation; and dinner chairs Allen & Company; Henry H. Arnhold, Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder Holdings, Inc.; The Arun I. and Asmita Bhatia Family Foundation; Paul Critchlow, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.; R. Richard Fontaine, GameStop; Michael and Mary Gellert; Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Hoerle; Sheila C. Johnson and William T. Newman; Max Roberts, Barnes & Noble College Bookstores; and John L. Tishman. The benefit committee includes Bank of America; Stephen Berger and Cynthia C. Wainwright; The Durst Organization; Health Net; Michael Johnston, Capital Group Companies, Inc.; Richard L. Kauffman and Ellen Jewett; Enda McIntyre, Qwest Contracting; Sally Minard; Richter + Ratner; and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP.
Past recipients of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia Award include former President Bill Clinton, Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO Stan O’Neal, former Senator George J. Mitchell, George David, Felix G. Rohatyn, Reuben and Arlene Mark, David Rockefeller, Henry Kravis, Arthur Levitt, Jr., Carl McCall, former Senator Patrick Moynihan, former Governor Mario Cuomo, former Mayors David N. Dinkins and Edward I. Koch, and Tishman Realty and Construction Co., Inc. Chairman and CEO John L. Tishman.
About Leonard and Louise Riggio
Born in a suburb of New York City, Leonard Riggio founded the Student Book Exchange, a small bookstore that he turned into a leading retailer, while attending NYU in 1965. When Mr. Riggio acquired New York’s Barnes & Noble bookstore in 1971, he adopted the venerable institution’s name for his growing company, which became the world’s largest bookseller. In addition, Mr. Riggio is the founder and largest shareholder of Gamestop, which owns more than 5000 video game retailers worldwide, and the chairman and principal shareholder of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, which operates bookstores serving more than 500 colleges and universities across the United States.
Along with his many contributions to charities and community organizations, Mr. Riggio has served on the boards of nearly two-dozen not-for-profit organizations, including the Children’s Defense Fund, the Black Children’s Community Crusade, the Brooklyn Tech Foundation, and the Italian American Foundation. Mr. Riggio is also highly dedicated to public education. He serves on the board of the New York Fund for Public Schools, and has led the nation’s first private endowment for a public high school, his own alma mater Brooklyn Technical High School. Among the numerous awards Mr. Riggio has received are the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Frederick Douglass Medallion, and, in November 2002, the Americanism Award from the Anti-Defamation League, its highest honor.
Louise Riggio is a dedicated volunteer for several community-based institutions serving children. With her husband, she is a trustee of the Riggio Foundation, which supports the arts, higher education, human services, and health associations. The couple also spearheaded and funded the building of the Dia:Beacon, the largest contemporary art museum in the world, located on the banks of the Hudson River. They have made generous gifts to The Alex Haley Farm, a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School institution in Clinton, Tennessee, committed to cultivating young black leaders. Recently, the Riggios founded and funded “Project Home Again,” an initiative to build and donate several hundred homes for displaced citizens in New Orleans.
ABOUT THE NEW SCHOOL
Located in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village, The New School is a center of academic excellence where intellectual and artistic freedoms thrive. The 8,700 matriculated students and 13,000 continuing education students who attend the university’s eight schools enjoy a disciplined education supported by small class sizes, superior resources, and renowned working faculty who practice what they teach. Artists, scholars, and students from all walks of life attend its diverse programs and can earn everything from program certificates to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. When The New School was founded in 1919, its mission was to create a place where global peace and justice were more than theoretical ideals. Today, The New School continues that mission and endeavors to foster worthy and just citizens of the world. The eight schools that make up The New School are: The New School for General Studies, The New School for Social Research, Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy, Parsons The New School for Design, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, Mannes College The New School for Music, The New School for Drama, and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. For more information about the university, please visit www.newschool.edu.
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