History

Alper House is named in honor of Andrew Alper (AB '80, MBA '81) and Sharon Sadow Alper (AB '80, JD '84). Mr. Alper, a University Trustee, was elected in March of 2009 by his peers to serve as the President of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees for a three-year term.  In 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City appointed Mr. Alper President of the New York City Economic Development Corp. and Chairman of the New York City Industrial Development Agency. Working for $1 a year, Andrew Alper helped convince companies to stay and rebuild in lower Manhattan in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, while developing strategies to bring jobs and economic growth back to the city as a whole.  He is now chairman of EQA Partners, L.P., an asset management firm specializing in global macro and currency strategies. He also serves as a trustee of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and a director of Friedman, Billings and Ramsey Capital Markets Corporation. Ms. Alper is an attorney who has taught at the Law Schools of Fordham University and New York University. Ms. Alper is also a member of the Visiting Committee for the College and Student Activities.

Culture

Below is an excerpt from a response written to an Alperite in 2002 by Andrew Alper: "Throughout my career I have found that my Chicago education has served me extremely well. I was taught how to think, not what to think and I was given phenomenal opportunities at an early, untested age. The College prepared me for B-school and the GSB positioned me to start at Goldman Sachs as a 23 year old associate and to become one of Goldman's youngest partners ever. Sharon and I are deeply grateful to what the University gave us and since we met at Pierce, naming Alper House seemed like an appropriate way to give something back."