SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The trust of Joseph Lampe has donated $1 million for Syracuse University’s John A. Lally Athletics Complex, which remains under construction on the school’s south campus.
The donation means the kitchen inside the complex will be called the Lampe Culinary Hub, Syracuse University said in a news release. The donation was at the direction of Shawn Lampe, his widow and trustee of the Joseph Lampe trust. He died on Jan. 25, 2018.
Lampe — a 1953 Syracuse University graduate and 1955 graduate of its College of Law — started his first year at the university working in a cafeteria, Syracuse noted.
“When Joe was a young boy, his father took him to all the football games. He even got to sit on the bench with the team, and he grew up determined to go to Syracuse University,” Shawn Lampe said in the Syracuse release. “I’ve never known someone to be so in love with his university. And he loved all sports. We often had to cancel social plans to stay home and watch Syracuse basketball games on TV. As the new athletics complex was taking shape, I wanted to honor Joe there in some special way. It made sense to make a gift that would put his name on the kitchen that will nourish every student-athlete in the ‘One Team’ Olympic Sports Dining Hall and the Football Dining Hall.”
The Lampe Culinary Hub and dining halls are located in the new John A. Lally Athletics Complex, which has entered a new phase of development. Construction has started on the new Football Operations Center and the “One Team” Olympics Sports Center. The new complex replaces what was once known as the Joseph and Shawn Lampe Athletics Complex.
“As a real estate executive and a fundraiser, Joe understood how things must evolve to meet current needs and demands,” Shawn Lampe said. I know he would be pleased to have his name in a location in the new athletics complex where there will be energy and intention to help students.”
“A native of Syracuse, Joe bled Orange,” John Wildhack, director of athletics at Syracuse University, said in the release. “Every Syracuse student, including each one of our student-athletes past, present and future, are the beneficiaries of Joe’s passion for the Block S. We are grateful for the generosity and commitment he and his wife, Shawn, make to the place we are all fortunate to call home.”