Jane Frank Pledges $500,000 to Smith School of Business

Jane Frank, director and owner of the McLean, Va.-based Worlds of Wonder art gallery, has pledged $500,000 to the Smith School of Business, to honor the contributions of her husband, the school's dean. In recognition of the gift, the school has named its largest auditorium the Howard Frank Auditorium. The 250-seat auditorium is located in the schools new 103,000-square-foot wing, which opened for classes in September 2002.

"I am proud of the great strides the Smith School has made under the direction of my husband, and I am pleased to recognize his work with this gift," said Jane Frank, who is also an adjunct faculty member at the Smith School. "I hope my gift will also help the school continue to move forward and build upon its leadership position."

The Smith School will use part of Mrs. Franks gift to stimulate fundraising by providing the matching dollars often needed to secure other donations. The gift will also support general operations.

Howard Frank has been dean of the Smith School since 1997. Under his direction, the school has earned a reputation as a leader in management education and research for the digital economy. The school has significantly increased the number of its faculty, expanded its off-campus part-time MBA offerings, launched an executive MBA program, and opened numerous leading-edge centers and laboratories. Also under Franks tenure, the school built a $38 million addition, a technologically advanced learning environment that doubled the size of the school facility and united most of the undergraduate and graduate classes under one roof.

The gift from Jane Frank is the second significant gift to the Smith School to be announced in as many weeks. On July 29, the school announced that real estate developer Robert H. Smith had pledged an additional $3 million to the school that bears his name. Smith is a 1950 alumnus of the business school.