Aspen Institute Announces New Gift for Renovation of Paepcke Memorial Building

July 3, 2007  • Institute Contributor

Aspen Institute Announces New Gift for Renovation of Paepcke Memorial Building

Aspen, CO, July 3, 2007––The Aspen Institute announced today a gift of $2 million to help fund the renovation of the Paepcke Memorial Building on the Institute’s Aspen Meadows campus. Spurred by the recently announced gifts of $3 million each from Stewart and Lynda Resnick and from Leonard and Evelyn Lauder, Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson have stepped forward to add another major gift for refurbishing the Paepcke Building.

“This is a spectacular gift for the Institute, and crowns our efforts in seeking funding for much-needed improvements to the Paepcke Building,” said Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson. “Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson have been Aspen Leaf donors to the Institute’s Society of Fellows for nearly a decade, and have participated in numerous symposia and programs. We are thrilled and grateful for their thoughtful generosity,” said Isaacson.

Stefan Edlis is an avid art collector and former head of the Chicago-based Apollo Plastics. He and his wife, H. Gael Neeson, will be making this contribution through their foundation, the Edlis-Neeson Foundation. They are active members of the Aspen community.  “We are delighted to give back to the community we enjoy so much,” said Edlis.

A local advisory committee has been formed that includes Melva Bucksbaum, Toni Du Brul, Merrill Ford, Bill Kane, Howie Mallory, George Stranahan, and Paula Zurcher, among others. 
 
The bulk of the money will go for renovating the 44-year-old Paepcke Building, making it energy efficient and environmentally friendly, and creating overflow rooms for events in the building’s auditorium that are open to the Aspen community.
 
The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership programs in Africa, Central America and India.

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