Cornell’s Hotel School gets $10M gift to endow deanship

ITHACA — Cornell University will use a $10 million donation from an alumnus to endow and name the deanship of its School of Hotel Administration (SHA).

The school announced the gift in a Dec. 12 news release.

Bradley (Brad) Stone, president and partner in Las Vegas, Nev.–based Global Gaming Asset Management, LLC, has committed a $10 million gift for the deanship endowment.

Stone is a 1977 graduate of Cornell’s SHA.

Brad Stone is the “ideal” person for whom the deanship could be named, Michael Johnson, dean and E.M. Statler professor in the School of Hotel Administration, contended in the release.

“Brad is a committed alumnus with an inspiring career in the hospitality industry, and his name will honor the School of Hotel Administration and the position of dean,” Johnson said.

Endowments to name the school’s senior-leadership posts are among the “most important” gifts any university can receive, David Skorton, president of Cornell University, said in the news release. 

“These investments allow us to attract the very best leaders to guide the future of our institution, and they provide critical funds for deans to address foremost priorities,” Skorton said. “Knowing we have the resources to recruit individuals who are singularly qualified to shape the school’s teaching and research enterprise will be of enormous benefit to me, to my successor Elizabeth Garrett, and to future presidents of Cornell.” 

Stone had previously provided financial support to establish the Stone Family Faculty Renewal Fellowship and the Bradley Stone ‘77 Scholarship, the school said. 

Additionally, Stone has served as a two-term member of the dean’s advisory board, and on the Cornell University Council since 2013. 

About Stone
A 1977 graduate of SHA, Stone is in partnership with the former Las Vegas Sands management team of Bill Weidner and Garry Saunders, according to the Cornell news release. 

The company has been conducting joint ventures with Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. in the global gaming, hospitality, and resort sectors, Cornell said. Cantor Fitzgerald is a New York City–based financial-services firm. 

Stone is the former president of global operations and development of Las Vegas Sands Corporation. In that role, he oversaw the design, construction, and operation of some of the world’s “most recognized” casino-resort properties, the school said.

They included the company’s “flagship” hotels — the more than 4,000-suite Venetian Las Vegas and the 3,000-room Palazzo Resort and Casino.

The Palazzo Resort and Casino is also located in Las Vegas.

Stone also played a “key role” in the Las Vegas Sands expansion to global markets. He directed the development of the Sands Macao, the corporation’s first international property, and the first U.S.-operated facility in the People’s Republic of China, Cornell said. 

Cornell described the opening of the $2.4 billion Venetian Macao as “perhaps his biggest professional milestone.” 

The 10.5-million-square-foot facility has been dubbed the “largest hotel in the world.” 

In addition, Stone oversaw the ongoing development of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Eastern Pennsylvania and the “iconic” Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. 

He also played a “key role” in the company’s financing and future international and domestic developments, according to Cornell. 

Stone is currently overseeing the management of the Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, the flagship of the largest destination-resort complex in the Bahamas, scheduled to open in the spring of 2015.       

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com