New York University formally dedicated Main Building as the Silver Center for Arts and Science during an academic convocation held on April 8, 2002. The building was named for Julius Silver (ARTS ’22), the NYU life trustee who passed away in January at age 101, and honors his landmark gift of $150 million to the University to support arts and science programs.

During the convocation, six faculty members were inducted as Silver Professors, the first group in an anticipated succession of named chairs also made possible by Mr. Silver’s gift. The professors are: John Andrew Bargh, professor of psychology; Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, professor of politics; Assia Djebar, professor of French; Karen Ordahl Kupperman, professor of history; J. Anthony Movshon, professor of neural science and psychology; and Margaret Wright, professor of computer science.

As a student, Mr. Silver received about $300 in scholarship funds from NYU, enabling him to attend college. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and became a prominent lawyer and chairman of the executive committee of the Polaroid Corporation. His gratitude to NYU led him to become a prominent benefactor of the University, where he served as a trustee from 1964 until his death.

“This is the perfect gift,” said NYU President L. Jay Oliva when he originally announced the gift in February, “because it goes to the heart of the enterprise and changes us forever. It will strengthen the role of the Faculty of Arts and Science and establish NYU as one of the great research and teaching centers in the country, with a clear mandate for attention to undergraduates.”

The convocation honored Mr. Silver and his late wife and daughter, Roslyn S. Silver and Enid Silver Winslow. Laurence Tisch, chairman emeritus of the NYU Board of Trustees, brought greetings on behalf of the NYU community, followed by remarks from Dr. Oliva and President-Designate John Sexton.

At the convocation, Dr. Oliva remarked, “When you work at an institution that you come to love, you dream big dreams for it. Today, many of those dreams have come true. Among them, we promised ourselves to commit to the centrality of the arts and sciences at this University. And we committed to making this promise financially possible for students. But big promises don’t come true until someone looks over your shoulder and says, ‘I like that idea. Let’s do it.’ Years ago, Julius Silver understood our idea of a central arts and science core, and today we see a clear demonstration that his generosity is already having an enormous impact on our University.”