At a dedication ceremony on October 23, brothers Leonard A. Lauder (W’54) and Ronald S. Lauder (W’65) joined Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett to celebrate the remodeling of the building housing the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies, which the brothers founded in 1983 in honor of their father.

The Lauder Institute provides a fully integrated business education to a generation of leaders coming of age in a rapidly globalizing world. The program combines an MA in International Studies from SAS with an MBA from Wharton or a JD from Penn Law, preparing each class of 70 students to become successful, culturally fluent global business leaders.

The building, located at 256 S. 37th Street, was constructed in 1990 as Lauder-Fischer Hall with support from the Lauder brothers in honor of their late father, Joseph. Their mother, Estée Lauder, founder of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., was present at that groundbreaking ceremony. The Institute initially occupied the first through third floors; the fourth floor was occupied by the Wharton Executive Education program. That program recently moved out and the entire building is now dedicated to the Lauder Institute and has been renamed. The makeover, which will involve remodeling all four floors and will include a redesigned and expanded lobby and event space, will be completed in fall 2019.

The renovation has been made possible by a generous contribution from Ronald Lauder, chairman of the Lauder Institute Board of Governors.His gift comes at the end of the Lauder Institute Challenge, a fundraising and engagement Campaign that began in 2013 and raised more than $30 million for the Lauder Institute from some 1,000 alumni and friends. The Lauder family’s visionary $15 million dollar-for-dollar match was instrumental to the challenge’s success.

“The longstanding generosity of the Lauder family is both legendary and extraordinary,” said President Gutmann. “Ronald and Leonard made the Lauder Institute’s creation possible decades ago, and they have remained steadfast in propelling its bold mission forward. Ronald’s leadership in expanding the program’s footprint and encouraging alumni to engage more deeply in support of the Lauder Institute is nothing short of inspirational, to me and to so many others across the University and around the world.”

“Leonard and I had a vision 35 years ago that Penn would teach students something we didn’t have available to us—the opportunity to combine a business or law education with international studies,” said Ronald Lauder. “Now 35 years later, with this renovation, our dream has its own home.”

Leonard Lauder added: “It’s a special honor to be here and see the amazing progress of this renovation. I’m very grateful to Ronald for his incredible generosity and to everyone involved for their support. My brother and I founded the Lauder Institute 35 years ago to develop true global leaders; since then the program has grown and our graduates have thrived. We’re excited to see what the next 35 years bring!”

“I am profoundly grateful to Ronald Lauder for his visionary investment in generations of global leaders,” said Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett. “We are proud to have a dedicated structure for this dynamic joint-degree program in such an inviting and state-of-the-art facility.”

Mauro Guillén, the Lauder Institute’s Anthony L. Davis Director, added, “It’s thrilling to envision the new Lauder Institute building and the impact it will have on the experience of our students and faculty. Our students will greatly benefit from new areas to gather and dine, which will foster the interdisciplinary and intercultural exchange that is the hallmark of this program.”