Robert B. Goergen ’60 has served as an adviser, trustee, and friend to the University over many decades.

He is a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist who avows that his undergraduate experience "played a critical role in preparing me to address later challenges in my life and business career."

Goergen is chairman of Blyth Industries of Greenwich, Connecticut, a company manufacturing and distributing candles, accessories, and home fragrance products. In one of its annual rankings, Forbes listed the company 30th among America’s 200 best small companies.

On October 13, 2000, the newly refurbished sports and recreation complex was dedicated as the Robert B. Goergen Athletic Center to recognize his $5 million gift in support of the project. (The gift is one of many he and his wife have made to the University over the past years.)

"The sports complex is a dynamic center of campus life and it must be absolutely first rate," Goergen says. "We insist on no less for our students."

The key component of the Goergen Center renovation is the new Hajim Gym, named in honor of Trustee Edmund A. Hajim '58. The Edmund A. Hajim Gymnasium was dedicated in early May of 2000. Included in the gym are new coaches' offices, locker rooms, and a spacious 11,000-square-foot fitness center/weight room, equipped with brand new state-of-the-art fitness equipment.

Phase II of the renovation project included the expansion of the Louis Alexander Palestra; the renovation of the pool spectator area; a new training room; a new squash/racquetball addition; a reconfigured indoor tennis facility, and cosmetic improvements to the field house. The total cost of the renovation and expansion of the Robert B. Goergen Athletic Center was $14 million. It was the most significant construction project on campus since the mid-1980s. Formal dedication of the 200,000-square-foot Goergen Athletic Center was part of the Sesquicentennial celebration in October 2000.