Terry and Peggy Dunn Family Classroom dedicated
As the community continues its support of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Henry W. Bloch School of Management, a Bloch School classroom was recently named to recognize a family of supporters.
The Terry and Peggy Dunn Family Classroom was recently dedicated and is located on the fourth floor of the new Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Members of the Bloch and Dunn families, Bloch School supporters and faculty joined with UMKC Chancellor Leo E. Morton and Bloch School Acting Dean David Donnelly for a dedication ceremony.
Terry Dunn, president and chief executive officer of JE Dunn Construction Group, Inc. and an active civic leader, said his family donated funds for the classroom as a tribute to Bloch School benefactor Henry W. Bloch. He credited Bloch for his commitment to making three local institutions – UMKC, Saint Luke’s Health System and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art – world-class leaders in their disciplines.
“I look at Henry as a tremendous mentor,” Dunn said. “We wanted to do this because of this school and the impact it has on this community.”
“UMKC means a lot to us, and we feel very honored and privileged to play a small role in this school,” Dunn added. Turning to Henry Bloch, he said “I want to thank you for all you do.”
Donnelly said naming classrooms for donors plays an important role in the school’s overall mission, inspired by Henry Bloch.
“Part of our mission is to produce purposeful leaders, who recognize that success breeds responsibility – a responsibility to give back to the community,” Donnelly said. “I want students to recognize that this is a real-world example of the kind of people we want them to become.”
Donnelly added that those who follow the Dunn’s lead in donating classrooms in the new state-of-the-art Bloch Executive Hall are not just being good role models for tomorrow’s business and civic leaders, but also paying tribute to Henry Bloch.
“We’re looking for people who don’t want to just name a room, but who want to be a part of Henry’s legacy,” Donnelly said. “With increased cuts in state funding, UMKC and the Bloch School rely heavily on the community and our donors to make what we do possible. There are many more opportunities to name meaningful areas in the school, and these naming opportunities are critical to the sustainability of our programs and growth.”
Additional naming opportunities are currently available in the Bloch Executive Hall.
The newly designated Terry and Peggy Dunn Family Classroom is an 80-seat, tiered classroom incorporating state-of-the-art technology and flexible furnishings to maximize collaborative learning within the room. The classroom is used extensively for graduate and executive education for both Bloch School of Management students and for corporate leaders who receive leadership and entrepreneurship training from the school.
The audio/visual technology in the classroom provides the capabilities to import multiple media sources that are displayed throughout the room and can also provide individual video and computer support for student teams in interactive break-out sessions.