(JTA) — The JCC Manhattan will be named after the late Marlene Meyerson, a supporter of the institution for more than 20 years, after a $20 million donation from the Marlene and Morton Meyerson Family Foundation.
The gift is one of the largest ever to a Jewish community center in the United States, the JCC Manhattan said in an announcement. The new name will be incorporated in February.
In addition to the name change, the Meyerson Family Foundation has commissioned artist Jenny Holzer to collaborate with members of the community to create site-specific art that will be placed throughout the building. Holzer, based in New York, is famed for her public space installations combining words and ideas in large-scale pieces. The Meyersons were early supporters of Holzer’s work.
Marlene Meyerson, a leader in Dallas civic and cultural affairs. died earlier this year. Morton is an investor who at various times served as CEO of Perot Systems and duPont Glore Forgan, a Wall Street brokerage firm.
In addition, the Meyerson Family Foundation has directed that the naming rights to the institution will return to the JCC in 30 years to enable it to pursue another large donor. While the name of the institution will change, the building itself, on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side, will remains the Samuel Priest Rose Building, in memory of a psychologist and author who died in 1994 at age 39.
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