Sam Wyly Hall officially opens

Sam and Cheryl Wyly return scissors after cutting the ribbon that signified the official dedication of Sam Wyly Hall. Business School Dean B. Joseph White looks on (left). Photo by Rebecca A. Doyle

“My mother always told me that when someone does something for you, you say ‘thank you.’ Thank you, Michigan,” Sam Wyly said last week just before he cut the ribbon signifying the official opening of Sam Wyly Hall. Winds were high, temperatures were low and remarks were short during the brief ceremony, but the crowd was ready to celebrate the entire afternoon as it entered the $20 million building that will house the Business School’s William Davidson Institute and make room for expansion of the School’s Executive Education Program.

“This means an enormous amount to the University,” President Lee C. Bollinger said. “To have this space available means that we will have the finest possible areas for our faculty to be able to do research and teach.”

Wyly received his M.B.A. in 1957 after being recruited to attend the Business School by William Paton, who taught at the School in 1917–59. Paton also personally selected Wyly to receive the first Paton Scholarship.

“I’m grateful for the education Michigan gave me and specifically for the Paton Scholarship,” Wyly said, “which made it possible for me to get an MBA.”

Business School Dean B. Joseph White thanked Wyly again for the gift that paid for half of the building, saying of Wyly, “He considers this a bill paid to Michigan for what the University of Michigan helped him to do.”

Wyly founded University Computing Co. in 1963 and is governing stockholder and managing director of several companies based in Dallas, Texas.