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CLS Celebrates the Opening of Lenfest Hall

• Lenfest Hall: News Release
• Lenfest Hall: Backgrounder
• Lenfest Hall: Web Site

Lenfest Hall: News Release

COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL CELEBRATES THE OPENING OF
LENFEST HALL

-- 211-Unit Residence Hall Welcomes Its Inaugural Occupants --

New York, NY - Columbia Law School marked the official opening of Lenfest Hall, the much-anticipated residence hall named for H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest '58 and his wife Marguerite, with a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception held on October 2, 2003.

The student residence, which welcomed its first occupants in August, contains 209 student apartments, including private studios ranging in size from 320 to 412 square feet, and one-bedroom apartments ranging from 380 to 648 square feet, all fully furnished with private bathrooms and kitchens.

The building offers a range of amenities, including study rooms and, eventually, a rear bamboo garden, as well as a recreation room with a pool table and other activities. Some apartments include terraces and many offer spectacular views of Morningside Park and historic Riverside Church. There are also two apartments for visiting faculty.

Dean David Leebron noted that "Lenfest was designed specifically for our law students with substantial input from them in determining the final design and furnishing of the apartments."

The apartments, designed by New York architects Gruzen Samton, were planned as flexible spaces that can be personalized to the lifestyle and personal preferences of each occupant.

Scott Keller, Gruzen Samton partner-in-charge of the project, said: "In designing the building, our goal was to provide the scale and detail appropriate for the residential neighborhood in which it resides. The overall character of the architecture relates to that of traditional upper West Side buildings, translated into a modern idiom that's appropriate to the present."

To date, the response from Lenfest Hall's new residents has been overwhelmingly positive. According to Ross Fieldston, a second year law student who recently transferred to Columbia, "Living so close to campus, in such a nice building, has certainly made my transition an easy and enjoyable one."

Paul Norman Mc Lean Cowling, an LL.M. student, concurred with Mr. Fieldston and added that the proximity to the Law School and layout of the apartments really enhanced his experience at Columbia.

Columbia Law School received a gift of $15 million from H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest, an alumnus of the class of 1958, and his wife, Marguerite, to create the project.

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Lenfest Hall: Backgrounder

H. F. (Gerry) and Marguerite Lenfest

A member of the Columbia Law School Class of 1958 and permanent president of the class council, Gerry Lenfest began his career practicing law at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York before joining Walter Annenberg¹s Triangle Publications, Inc. in Philadelphia. Nine years later, Gerry and two partners created Lenfest Communications through the purchase of Suburban Cable TV Company and Lebanon Valley Cable TV from Triangle. Lenfest Communications became one of the largest cable television companies in the United States and was sold to Comcast Corporation in January 2000.

Gerry's service to Columbia Law School is longstanding. He has been a National Co-Chairman of the Annual Fund, a member of the Board of Visitors, a class reunion chair or committee member, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1997, and is currently a member of the Dean¹s Council. In 2001, Gerry became a member of the Columbia University Board of Trustees.

Marguerite, an alumna of Wilson College, worked as a school teacher to help Gerry attend Law School, and became his partner in Lenfest Communications, serving as the company treasurer. Over the years, she, like Gerry, has served on numerous non-profit boards, including Wilson College and the Philadelphia Museum of the Arts.

Gerry and Marguerite's wide-ranging generosity has touched many lives and organizations. Chief among the beneficiaries of their remarkable philanthropic activities are, in addition to Columbia Law School, Mercersburg Academy, Washington and Lee University, Wilson College, Abington Hospital, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Library of Congress, and the Philadephia Museum of Art where Gerry serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees. The Lenfests have established a foundation which has been committed in large measure to providing educational opportunities for rural Pennsylvania students.

Gerry and Marguerite have three children and three grandchildren.

The Building:

Lenfest Hall

With 209 student residences, including both studios and one bedroom apartments, Lenfest Hall is a stunning addition to the Columbia campus and the Morningside Heights neighborhood. Lenfest Hall dramatically augments the housing options for Law School students, and makes it possible for the School to offer housing to entering J.D. students, as well as many graduate (LL.M.) and transfer students.

The building, located on 121st Street just a few steps east of Amsterdam Avenue, features fully furnished units with private kitchens and baths.

Some apartments include terraces and many offer views of Morningside Park and historic Riverside Church. In addition to student apartments, there are two specially designed and furnished apartments available for visiting faculty. The building also includes common spaces and a bamboo and rock garden in the rear courtyard.

Lenfest Hall is the most recent step toward ensuring that the quality of the Law School's facilities matches the intellectual excellence of its students and faculty and the quality of the education it provides. Columbia Law School and its generous graduates have invested more than $130 million in the improvement and expansion of facilities since 1995. Lenfest Hall is the first residence facility at Columbia University built specifically for the purpose of housing law students.

With the opening of Lenfest Hall, Columbia Law School also makes a contribution to the community by turning an undeveloped site into a residential facility that will enhance the neighborhood. The presence of this important new residence has already helped foster new commercial establishments on this stretch of Amsterdam Avenue.

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Lenfest Hall: Web Site

• Lenfest Hall Web Site