The George Washington University community remembers the life of Barton H. “Bart” Kogan, an alumnus whose family in 1999 gave GW the gift establishing Kogan Plaza. Kogan received his B.B.A. in finance from the School of Business (GWSB) in 1969 and his M.A.E. in counseling in 1970 and served on the School of Business Board of Advisors from 1990 to 2012.
Kogan died on Oct. 3. He was 75 years old.
"Bart will be deeply missed by our GWSB family," said Anuj Mehrotra, dean of GWSB. "His service on our GWSB Board of Advisors spanned more than a decade, and we are thankful for the many ways in which his thoughtful engagement and generosity continues to benefit our entire university."
Kogan Plaza was named in 1999 following a gift from the Brand Foundation of New York, a family foundation of which Bart Kogan was a founding board member.
“I’ve always felt that giving back is a good thing,” Kogan told the Hatchet in 1999. “If something is a good experience, then you want to give back so other people can enjoy that experience too.”
President Emeritus Stephen J. Trachtenberg was GW president when the previously unnamed plaza in the middle of the Foggy Bottom campus was named Kogan Plaza, which Trachtenberg said was among the first naming conventions during his time as president. “Bart and I talked about this for almost two years before it became a reality,” Trachtenberg said. “I remember our discussions. He really wanted to do it. He felt that the naming of Kogan Plaza was terribly important. And Kogan Plaza will be there for generations.”
After graduating from GW, Kogan worked for Continental Telephone Corporation, later acquired by Verizon, before founding BHK Management Company, Inc., and moving into property acquisition and management full time.
At the time of his death, Kogan was co-chair of the board of governors for Sinai Temple of Los Angeles. He also was past president of the Western Region of the Federation of Temple Mens’ Clubs and served on the boards of Los Angeles Hebrew High School and of the American Jewish University’s Zeigler School of Rabbinic Studies. A memorial service will be held at a future date at Sinai Temple of Los Angeles.