Alfred University administrative building renamed in honor of alumnus James Jordan ’72

ALFRED, NY—Carnegie Hall, which houses Alfred University’s administrative offices, has been renamed in honor of alumnus of James Jordan ’72, a longtime member of the Board of Trustees whose philanthropy has been at the forefront of the University’s campus beautification efforts.

Jordan Hall was dedicated during a ceremony Friday evening, Oct. 22. Jordan’s philanthropy to his alma mater includes a $1 million gift made in 2018 to fund campus beautification initiatives—the most recent being a project to install modern Alfred University-branded signage in front of buildings and along campus roadways. A new sign in front of the newly-renamed Jordan Hall was unveiled during Friday’s ceremony.

Jordan dedicated the building to his parents, Myron and Mary Margaret Jordan, and to his Irish ancestors, who fled the potato famine in search of freedom, democracy, and gainful employment. Jordan spoke of his affinity for Alfred University. “Alfred means an awful lot to me; I met myself at Alfred,” he commented. “Coming here was one of the best things to happen to me.”

Greg Connors, a 1992 Alfred University graduate and chair of the Board of Trustees, credited Jordan for his dedication to improving Alfred University’s campus aesthetics. “Alfred University is so much more beautiful and better off since you joined the Board,” Connors remarked.

Carnegie Hall was constructed in 1912 and was named for businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Carnegie provided funding in support of the construction of more than 2,500 libraries around the world, including nearly 1,700 in the United States. Former Alfred University student Melvil Dewey, originator of the Dewey Decimal System that was used by many libraries to classify their collections, and President Boothe Colwell Davis persuaded Carnegie to fund the construction of the library in Alfred.

Alfred University’s library collection—which had outgrown the space at Carnegie Hall—was moved into a newly-constructed Herrick Memorial Library in 1957. Seven years later, in 1964, Carnegie Hall was converted to administrative offices. Today, the building houses Alfred University’s offices of the President and Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, as well as the Business and Finance offices, including that of the Vice President for Business and Finance.

Mark Zupan, Alfred University president, drew parallels between the two University benefactors: Carnegie and Jordan. Both were committed to education, dedicated to their work, and to using the fruits of their labors to help others.

“Andrew Carnegie put this building on the map,” Zupan said. “Jim Jordan agreed to carry the baton—to create this sense of place on our campus.”

In addition to supporting campus beautification initiatives, Jordan helped underwrite the cost of a new boiler, installed as part of the University’ new energy efficient distributed boiler system. That gift was made in honor of the late Joel Moskowitz, a 1961 Alfred University graduate who encouraged Jordan to serve on the board. Jordan has also endows a scholarship fund benefiting students from his hometown of Richfield Springs, NY, who enroll at Alfred University. To date, the James Jordan Scholarship has provided more than $80,000 in scholarships to six Alfred University students.

“I can’t say enough great things about Mr. Jordan,” said Dylan Dyn, a first-year finance major from Richfield Springs and recipient of a James Jordan Scholarship. Dyn said Jordan has served as a mentor since he has been at Alfred. “Everything that come out of his mouth is wisdom. It’s life advice that I take to heart.”

Jordan earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Alfred University in 1972 and is president of James Jordan Associates, a family-owned architectural firm founded in 1932 in Richfield Springs. Over the last three-plus decades, Jim has been responsible for the design of over 500-million-dollars’' worth of educational, commercial, and institutional architecture. He has been a member of the Alfred University Board of Trustees since 2003 and currently chairs the Board’s Building and Grounds Committee.