Situated at 32d and Market Streets, the building will be Drexel's most expensive to date - more than the $69 million integrated sciences building to be named after the late Drexel president Constantine Papadakis - and serving as "the entrance to the heart of the university," Fry said.
The announcement comes just 31/2 months into Fry's tenure. While Fry closed the deal, the project had been in the works for several years and was cultivated by Papadakis.
"This is phenomenal for Drexel," Fry said. "It's a very confident statement about Drexel's future."
LeBow, a 1960 electrical engineering graduate, said he was pleased with the business school's progress since he made his initial $10 million donation in 1999 and the school was named after him.
The growing school has launched full-time, online, and corporate MBA programs and has been ranked among the top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Four-year undergraduate tuition, which includes a co-op experience, is $38,000 per year; the one year MBA program tuition is $57,000.
LeBow called his initial gift "the best investment I ever made."
His $45 million gift is the largest he's ever given to any entity.
"They've been doing a great job of it, and I want to keep it going," said LeBow, a West Philadelphia native who chairs the board of the international bookseller Borders Group, based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
LeBow made his reputation as a turnaround specialist, investing in struggling companies as wide-ranging as jewelry, real estate, and sports collectibles. He also chairs the board of Vector Group Ltd., a private-equity firm focused on real estate and tobacco products.
LeBow, 72, of Miami, is Drexel's largest benefactor and credits the university with giving him his start. He enrolled in the school's co-op program, which allowed him to work while attending school.
