NYU Washington D.C. Academic Facility Officially Open to Students

Connie Milstein, right, attended the NYU Washington D.C. ribbon cutting on Monday, Sept. 24.

Last week, NYU expanded its presence in the nation’s capitol as it cut the ribbon on the Constance Milstein and Family Global Academic Center. University students can now “study abroad” in D.C., taking classes, conducting research and pursuing internships from the 75,000 sq. ft. academic facility. Located just blocks from the White House, the curriculum offerings will focus on politics, government, public administration, and journalism, among other trends. NYU hopes to place many of the visiting students in internships or jobs by tapping the large number of NYU alumni in the city. 

The campus was made a reality through generous donations by Connie Milstein, Principal and Co-founder of Ogden CAP Properties, LLC, and local philanthropist; and Ronald Abramson, a shareholder in the firm of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

“On behalf of the entire NYU community, I thank Connie Milstein and Ron Abramson for their wonderful gifts, as well as the many other alumni and friends who supported NYU Washington D.C. Their philanthropy 

and their belief in us are potent validations of the global academic network NYU is building,” said NYU President John Sexton.

NYU’s Washington, D.C. site is the 14^th NYU-operated academic center outside of New York City. It was designed for NYU by Hickok Cole Architects and the general contractor was the Sigal Corporation. Construction began in December 2010 and the University is currently applying for LEED Certification for the building.

Groundbreaking and Construction of Constance Milstein and Family Academic Center

Following various speeches at the groundbreaking for the Constance Milstein and Family Academic Center (NYUDC), the symbolic groundbreaking took place. This comprised hardhats and shovels using the purple NYU torch. Work on constructing the 75,000 square foot 12-story building is scheduled to start soon and will have dorms on the upper floors to house 125 students. It will be perfect for those doing courses in journalism, economics, history and politics as will come with an internship in the city of Washington, DC. But the fun continued after the groundbreaking with the VIPs assembling at the St. Regis Hotel along with around 400 guests (mainly alumni) for food and wine. Following a brief introduction (requesting further donations for the new construction), Connie Milstein, who donated a generous $10 million to the project, talked about the “need for an NYU campus in the nation’s capital and echoed the evening’s excitement about NYU’s global push. ‘[Sexton’s] vision of the ‘global network university’ is no doubt one of the most brilliant ideas of our time,’ she said.”