Puri donated $5 million to the university.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: The Illinois-based Rockford University has named their business school the Puri Business School (PBS), in honor of local real estate entrepreneur Sunil Puri, who is a 1982 alumnus and has donated $5 million to the university.
Puri, the founder and president of the First Rockford Group, is also a recipient of an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University, last year.
The business school named after Puri is the first named school at the University and will include the economics, business and accounting (EBA) programs, along with ancillary business related activities of the university, according to a release from the university.
Puri is also noted for donating the 28,000 square foot business school building on campus, which will serve as the hub for all related PBS programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
“From the minute he stepped on this campus as an undergrad more than 35 years ago, a fire sparked inside him that still burns bright,” stated President Robert L. Head. “As a dedicated Trustee and tireless advocate for Rockford University, he has had occasion to and has proudly promoted and protected the interests of our university; for that we are most grateful.”
Head added: “Sunil’s is a shared vision with the university to establish a school of business that will not only be envied but provide our students with a superior educational experience that prepares them for success.”
Puri sees the PBS producing entrepreneurs and business leaders that assist in the economic revival of his region.
“It is important to my family and me, that the Puri Business School offers not only an exemplary space where students, faculty and the community can interact and innovate, but where significant programmatic and curricular advances that will deepen the University’s commitment to advance the university and partner in the economic revival of this region,” said Puri in a statement. “The liberal arts education I received at Rockford College significantly contributed to my success and the Puri Business School is my way of paying it forward.”
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was able to make a special appearance for the formal announcement of the school at a reception held on October 3.
“I am pleased to honor my friend Sunil Puri for his commitment to Rockford University as we dedicate the Puri Business School. In 1979, Sunil came to Rockford University with virtually no money or proper transcripts, but he did come with hope and tenacity. Rockford University gave him a chance and today—on his birthday no less—he’s made it clear that he hasn’t forgotten the role the school played in his success,” he said in a statement.
Born in Bombay, Puri, 54, immigrated to the United States in 1979 to attend Rockford University, where he graduated in 1982 with a B.S. in Accounting. He pursued further graduate work at Rockford University and London Business School, and in 2013, he graduated from the ten year Program of Management and Leadership of the Harvard Business School.
Puri co-founded the real estate development firm of First Rockford Group, Inc. in 1984. Today, he is the President and sole owner of First Rockford Group Inc., a diversified real estate development firm based in Rockford, Illinois. The company develops retail, office, and warehouse projects, owns and operates restaurant and hospitality properties, and currently has over 200 tenants.
Puri was a principal in the development of a technology office park in Pune, dating back to 1988. He continues to diligently pursue varied real estate opportunities in India, and has several private equity investments in India and China. Puri was also the former director of two United States publicly traded banks, and is the co-founder and part owner of Road Ranger, an over 90-unit truck stop and petroleum company. While most of his projects are concentrated in Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, Puri has also developed properties in California, Arizona and Florida.
Puri lives in Rockford, Illinois with his family. He is actively involved with the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). He serves on the Executive Committee and as a Trustee of Rockford University.
Puri is on the Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC) Board, which is a regional economic agency in northern Illinois. He has been involved with the Golden Apple Foundation since 2003, which annually awards outstanding teachers in the Rockford area and also recognizes area principals with the Outstanding Puri Principal Award.
Puri has advised both President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama, traveling to India with Clinton in 2000 and 2001 and Obama in 2010. Since September 2010, he has also served as Commissioner on President Obama’s White House Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.