GW is closing in on its fundraising goal for the Charles E. Smith Center thanks to a generous donation from a university supporter.
Willard Hackerman and the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company have donated $1 million toward the transformation of the Charles E. Smith Center, bringing the total raised by GW for the project to $8.9 million.
“I have admired Willard Hackerman’s leadership and generosity for many years,” says GW President Steven Knapp. “I am grateful that he is playing such an important role in the transformation of the Charles E. Smith Center.”
Updates to the Charles E. Smith Center include an expanded academic center, weight room and updated sports medicine facility; an Athletic Directors Club and Colonial Club for fans; and new look for the building’s exterior entrance and box office.
Mr. Hackerman is president and chief executive officer of Whiting-Turner, one of the contractors on the Charles E. Smith Center, which is currently in its final phase of construction.
Mr. Hackerman has been employed with Whiting-Turner Contracting Company since 1938. The company, which was founded in 1909 to build sewer lines, has grown into one of the nation’s largest contracting firms with 29 U.S. offices and a portfolio ranging from high-profile shopping malls to prominent national landmarks.
The firm provides construction management, general contracting and design/build services, primarily for large commercial, institutional and infrastructure projects in the United States. A key player in retail construction, the company also undertakes such projects as theme parks, stadiums and corporate headquarters.