Syracuse University trustee and wife donate $20 million for National Veterans Resource Center project

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse University has announced a $20 million donation from life trustee Daniel D’Aniello and his wife, Gayle, for the upcoming National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC).

The donation, which Syracuse describes as “one of the single largest gifts” in its history, will help pay for the construction of the NRVC.

The $62.5 million, 115,000-square-foot facility will open in the spring of 2020.

D’Aniello graduated from Syracuse in 1968 and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, the university said in a news release issued Monday.

Once built, the NRVC will house the school’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF). The IVMF is an academic institute focused on the concerns of the nation’s more than 20 million veterans and their families as well as other veteran-focused educational, vocational and community-engagement programs, according to Syracuse University.

D’Aniello also serves as co-chair of the IVMF advisory board, the school said.

Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud describes the D’Aniello family’s donation as “profoundly transformative” and one that will allow Syracuse University to “fulfill its promise of being the best place for veterans.”

New York City–based SHoP Architects is designing the NVRC. Syracuse University in November chose Rochester–based LeChase Construction Services, LLC to lead construction-management efforts on the project.

About D’Aniello

Daniel D’Aniello is co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), a Washington, D.C.–based investment firm.

He also served as a supply officer in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1971. He went on to earn a graduate degree at the Harvard Business School, where he was a Teagle Foundation Fellow.

D’Aniello in 2016 was awarded the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation’s Lone Sailor Award for drawing upon his sea-service experience to achieve success in his personal and professional life while exemplifying the core values of honor, courage and commitment, per the release.

Since its founding in 2011, more than 90,000 transitioning service members, veterans and military family members have participated in IVMF programs. The IVMF has pledged to place 30,000 veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses into desirable jobs by 2022 through its veterans’ career-transition program called “onward to opportunity.”

“The work being done at Syracuse, specifically at the IVMF, is simply unrivaled,” D’Aniello said. “The fact is that unlike any other university, Syracuse understands and appreciates the significant contributions by and the great role veterans and military families play in our society. This new center will allow Syracuse University to help our nation not only respond to but anticipate the unique needs of this population by helping veterans more seamlessly transition to civilian life. To say this center is a game changer in the ongoing efforts to better the post-service lives of our veterans and their families is an understatement.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com