Alums donate $2 m. to LGBT Ctr.

Two Penn graduates have donated $2 million to the University that will go toward giving the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Center a new home on campus. University President Judith Rodin will publicly announce the donation -- made by life partners David Goodhand, 37, and Vincent Griski, 36, both 1985 Penn graduates -- today at the National Coming Out Day rally in Wynn Commons. "In a way, we feel that the building is coming out tomorrow," Goodhand said. The gift is unique in higher education philanthropy because it is the first of its kind to directly benefit an LGBT community, and it will help finance the renovation of Carriage House, located at the west end of campus at 3905 Spruce Street. The $2 million gift kicks off a $5 million fundraising campaign to pay for the Carriage House renovations. "President Rodin and I are very appreciative of the wonderful commitment that David and Vincent have shown in offering such a generous gift," Provost Robert Barchi said. The LGBT Center is currently located at 3537 Locust Walk and shares the building with the African American Resource Center and the Management and Technology Program offices. The LGBT Center houses its offices on the third floor. Over the last few years, Goodhand and Griski have worked with the center and have become aware of the center's lack of space. Goodhand, a retired Microsoft executive, and Griski, a former Wall Street analyst, approached the administration about finding more space for the center. The Carriage House, which is two stories and is much larger than the space available at 3537 Locust Walk, was selected as the ideal spot for the Center's new home. This center will be the first of its kind on a college campus. Goodhand and Griski said they hope that the new offices will serve as a safe haven, an information source and a social gathering place for LGBT students. The new center will also give the 10 LGBT Center-affiliated groups a much-needed meeting area. The men began negotiations for the project approximately a year ago. Since their 10-year reunion in 1995, Goodhand and Griski have been actively seeking to give back to the school that meant so much to them. "We love Penn," Goodhand said, explaining that he and Griski met and began dating here as sophomores and they lived together in Stouffer House. "In many ways Penn nurtured our relationship from the very beginning," he said. However, the building is not just intended for use by the LGBT community. In fact the entire first floor has been set aside as a common social area that is open to all students. "The center is certainly for the LGBT community," Barchi pointed out. "But it is also for the Penn community in the broader sense." Goodhand and Griski said they are glad to be providing the entire Penn student body with a social center in Hamilton Village. The donors have made a point to aid both LGBT students and the general student body. Goodhand, who was a 34th Street editor while at Penn, said he sees Carriage House as a challenge to students. "We can build a building," he said. "But we can't fill it. That is the job of students." Goodhand was also careful to point out that Penn has been a leader among universities in dealing with gay and other diversity issues, a tradition that he said he and Griski appreciate and hope to continue with the Carriage House.

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