Thursday, May 30, 1996
$5 million pledge fails to materialize, name now for saleBy John
Digrado
Daily Bruin Staff
Griffin Commons is undergoing an identity crisis.
After this summer, students will have to call the hub of
academic and dorm activity on The Hill by a different name.
After months of bargaining with the university for time,
homebuilding mogul Paul Griffin Jr. announced he would be unable to
make good on the $5 million pledge that put his and his wife’s
names on the building.
Griffin’s pledge  originally made in the name of the
athletic department  allowed the university to keep the
initial design of the building instead of removing one floor now
used for athletic department offices and tutoring services.
Without the contribution, "it was clear that we would lose that
floor," said Rick Perdy, associate director of development and
public affairs for the athletic department.
"In all good faith and conscience, they wanted to make (the
pledge) and we wanted to accept it," Perdy added.
"It’s an unfortunate thing," admitted Griffin, president of
Griffin Homes. "But I am not upset with UCLA and it’s something
that is best for (the university)."
A joint venture between the College of Letters and Sciences and
the athletic department, the building serves the needs of both
athletics and academics. The Commons provides office and study
space, tutoring classrooms and houses Sunset Village’s dining
facility.
Attempting to keep the agreement together, Griffin and the
university began to search for ways to produce the donation, but
finally gave up a few months ago.
This was a situation "we really were hoping not to deal with,"
Perdy said. "We worked long and hard at looking at other ways for
him to meet his obligation.
"The numbers just didn’t pencil out," he added.
In a January letter to Chancellor Charles Young, Griffin asked
the university to remove the names from the building, a first in
UCLA history.
"It has become apparent that the length of time that it will
take to complete our commitment is creating a hardship for UCLA,"
Griffin wrote.
"We are therefore requesting that our name be removed from the
Commons Building so that the university is free to seek another
donor for this particular naming opportunity."
Over the years, Griffin has continuously given time and money to
his alma mater. A 1953 graduate, he has presided over and is
currently a board member of the UCLA Foundation, a private
fundraising group for the university.
His donations have aided various segments of the campus, from
the J.D. Morgan Hall of Fame to the philosophy department.
And, when the university found itself short of funds for the
Commons in 1990, Griffin pledged the $5 million necessary to
continue construction as planned. In his honor, the building was
christened the Paul and Gloria Griffin Commons.
But things went sour in the homebuilding industry. With the deep
recession of the early 1990s came a slew of losses to Griffin’s
company, and in 1992 Griffin Homes declared bankruptcy.
"We made the pledge when our business was good, and we wanted to
help see the building to its completion," Griffin said. "It finally
became apparent that we couldn’t fulfill the pledge."
Because the Griffins backed out, the university will find a new
donor, using the building’s name as an incentive and a show of
gratitude for a large contribution.
While the search has already begun for a replacement donor,
Perdy noted that it is still in the preliminary stages. He would
not name any potential contributors, but said that several have
been identified.
"What we are hoping is that we will be able to identify another
donor and suggest if that donor were to make a very significant
contribution … we would name it in honor of another large gift to
the university," Perdy said.
The naming opportunity is a valuable asset to the university,
agreed Joseph Mandel, vice chancellor of financial affairs. "We
have an obligation to not let that asset go untapped."
But as the situation created strains between the Griffins and
the university, Perdy maintained that "There is no one more upset
over this whole situation than Paul and Gloria.
"All of us were particularly frustrated at the fact that the
situation occurred," he said. "But there is really no great
personal frustration at all. They are really great friends of the
athletic department and UCLA, and they always will be."
The names will be taken down from the Commons sometime this
summer, Perdy added.
Despite previous frustrations, Griffin pledged his support of
the replacement donor process, stating that he will be active in
the search and will do everything within his power to help the
university.
"I’ve worked for the benefit of UCLA for over 30 years," Griffin
said. "I love the university and so does my wife, and we plan to
work for them for another 30 years," he added.
GENEVIEVE LIANG
Griffin Commons, part of the Sunset Village complex, will soon
undergo a name change because donor Paul Griffin Jr. could not
fulfill his $5 million pledge.