Gordon & Gretchen Gross Classroom Dedication

Dean Mutua offered welcoming remarks.

President Simpson expressed his deep appreciation for all the ways that Gordon and Gretchen Gross are engaged in the community: Gordon’s involvement with education, with the Weinberg Campus, with Roswell Park and as a trustee of SUNY. He has been the highest fund-raiser in the Ride for Roswell. Gretchen is recognized for her work with children who have passed through her preschool, Audubon at College Park, since 1974.

“We’re here to celebrate the beneficence of the Grosses in enabling this classroom and supporting our School of Law. It is the latest act in support of the university by the Grosses, who just recently endowed the first professorship in what will become the Institute for Jewish Thought, Heritage & Culture. We’re here to celebrate the naming of this classroom, but more importantly to celebrate and thank you for all the good things you do for our university and our community.” 

Students of today want the best facilities and the best classrooms, said Provost Satish Tripathi. UB is becoming the first choice of the most academically ambitious and accomplished undergraduate, graduate and professional students. To ensure that our students benefit greatly from the teaching and mentoring of our nationally and internationally recognized faculty we must continue to upgrade, enhance and ultimately transform our university’s learning environment. This gift from Gordon and Gretchen truly exemplifies their love for education, their belief in the power of education, and their commitment to the University at Buffalo and to the law school.

It has become clear to me that there is no law school that can aspire to greatness without dedicated alumni, said Dean Makau Mutua. What has happened here today is a signal event for our alumni to step forward, following the ideal example of Gordon and Gretchen Gross. We at UB Law share a vision of academic excellence and of producing the greatest lawyers in the world, of germinating the best scholarship in the world, of attracting the best students in the world. The Grosses’ support takes us one step closer to realizing this ambition. 

He is one of our most distinguished and most generous alumni. This gift he and Gretchen have given us is just one example of their generosity.  In addition to being a prominent member of the Bar, Gordon is an innovator in legal practice, a person who has served his clients with distinction. A person who did not forget Western New York or UB Law. He has poured his heart and soul into the university in general. I want to recognize Gretchen as a pillar of community excellence. Your work is renowned nationally with young people. What we do here would not be possible without what you do before they get here, teaching them how to read, to write, ethics, and how to organize their lives.  To both of you, this law school and this university is grateful. We are honored and privileged to name this classroom the Gordon & Gretchen Gross Classroom.