The names of a Bowling Green attorney and property developer will be featured on the newly constructed business school at Western Kentucky University.
The building housing the Gordon Ford College of Business will be called Amy and David Chandler Hall.
The Board of Regents approved the philanthropic naming of the 113,000-square-foot facility during its quarterly meeting on Friday.
President Timothy Caboni said David Chandler came to WKU as a first-generation student and became a "tremendous success story."
“For me, when you look at the tremendous effect he’s had on Bowling Green and Warren County with his work as a developer, and across the country, I want his students to understand that as they sit in a classroom today, that’s going to enable them to have a career just like that," Caboni told reporters.
Bowling Green native Amy Chandler earned an undergraduate degree in political science from WKU in 1993. She made history in 2004 by becoming the first woman elected as Warren County Attorney.
David Chandler, a native of Owasso, OK, earned an undergraduate science degree in 1982 and went on to build a notable career in business and community development.
The couple has committed $7.5 million for the naming rights to the Gordon Ford College of Business.
“Western Kentucky University holds a special place of pride in our hearts,” David Chandler said in a news release. “It’s where we discovered our passion for business and built the foundation for our future. We are honored to be able to support the construction of the new home of the Gordon Ford College of Business with this gift, which reflects our belief in the power of education to transform lives.”
Amy and David Chandler Hall will open to students on Aug. 18, the first day of the fall semester. It replaces Grise Hall, which formerly housed the Gordon Ford College of Business.
The new building will be dedicated Sept. 19 on the former site of Tate Page Hall.
Construction began in 2023 with the help of a $75 million appropriation from the Kentucky legislature.