Vance Hall has been renamed Dinan Hall in recognition of a large gift from 1981 Wharton graduate and University Board of Trustees member James Dinan that will support a large-scale renovation of the building.
Wharton Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Colleen O’Neill announced the “generous” gift and building renaming in an email to the Wharton community on Aug. 27. The renovation is currently underway and will be completed in September.
“As part of the renovation, the building signage will be updated to reflect its new Dinan Hall name and digital and physical campus maps will be gradually updated as well,” the email reads. “You'll notice classes in the building will have DNHL abbreviation, with VANC no longer used.”
The Daily Pennsylvanian was unable to confirm the size of Dinan’s gift to Penn.
After attending Penn, Dinan received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1985. He has served on the Board of Trustees since 2012 and also serves on the Wharton Board of Advisors.
Dinan is most well known for founding the investment firm York Capital Management in September 1991. He currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the firm and is the chair of York’s Executive Committee. He is listed by Forbes as being worth $2.1 billion.
He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the City of New York, a member of the Board of Directors of the Hospital for Special Surgery, the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and the Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s Advisors.
In 2014, Dinan gained partial ownership of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Dinan Hall was originally named after 1927 Wharton graduate Henry Vance, who served as a Penn Trustee as well as chairman of the firm Vance, Sanders & Co., Inc. Vance contributed over $1.2 million to the construction of the building. He died in April 1972 at the University’s hospital.
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