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Floren Family Donates $10 Million for Varsity House

Douglas C. Floren '63, and his family have made a $10 million gift to Dartmouth to support the construction of a new $19.5 million Varsity House to be named the Floren Varsity House. The facility will provide varsity athletes with a 10,000-square-foot varsity strength training center, a 130-person "smart" classroom, meeting rooms, football locker room and equipment facilities, and offices for football, baseball, and two women's sports.

Douglas C. Floren '63 and his family have made a $10 million gift to support the construction of the new Varsity House at Memorial Field.  The facility will be named the Floren Varsity House and is scheduled for completion in fall 2007.  (Image courtesy Dartmouth Planning, Design and Construction)

"Dartmouth's outstanding scholar-athletes will benefit greatly from Doug Floren's generosity," says President James Wright. "Doug knows from his days as a varsity athlete, when he captained the men's tennis team, the importance of first-rate facilities. He made a significant gift to the award-winning Alexis Boss Tennis Center and Alan D. Gordon Pavilion, which opened in 2000. Once again, Doug has addressed a College priority by providing funding for another valuable resource for our coaches and athletes with this tremendous gift to the Varsity House."

The new Varsity House is slated for completion in fall 2007 and will be located to the east of Memorial Field, overlooking Memorial Field and Red Rolfe Baseball Field. In preparation for construction the east stands were reduced and redesigned to comply with safety and accessibility codes. Seating has been added to the endzone for a total capacity of 13,000 seats.

Floren is the cofounder and managing partner of DCF Capital, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Conn. His wife, Olivia ("Livvy"), is a Republican state representative whose district includes Greenwich and Stamford. They have four children-Jennifer '93; Melissa, Princeton 1996; David '01; and Clay, Stanford 2001. Doug Floren received an A.B. in economics from Dartmouth in 1963.

In addition to their support of Dartmouth athletics, the Florens have provided funding in the arts and sciences to benefit faculty and students. They endowed a fellowship in the biological sciences to encourage recently tenured faculty to promote curricular innovation and effective teaching. They have also established an endowment in biological sciences to help underwrite the costs of student research projects. As a volunteer, Floren has served on the Leadership Committee during the Campaign for Dartmouth, the Reunion Giving Committee, and was a class agent for seven years.

The family has made grants to numerous educational and human services organizations through the Floren Family Foundation, including Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Greenwich Country Day School. The Florens are also active in the community, supporting such organizations as United Way of Greenwich, Greenwich Hospital, and Greenwich Adult Day Care. Livvy Floren serves on a number of boards, including Community Centers Inc. and Boys and Girls State Commission. She is also a trustee of the Air Conservation Trust.

"The new Varsity House symbolizes Dartmouth's strong commitment to intercollegiate sports and our 900 varsity student-athletes," says Jo Ann "Josie" Harper, director of athletics and recreation. "Our coaches do a great deal of teaching, and the new classrooms will make that even more effective. The facility will also create a terrific strength-training environment for all our varsity teams, moving us to the forefront of the Ivy League. For our football program in particular, the new locker room, training room, and offices, along with the new playing surface on Memorial Field, will provide a first-class set of facilities. The Varsity House will not only be a tremendous asset for teaching and training, but will provide a significant recruiting advantage as well."

Dartmouth has made significant improvements to its athletic facilities in the past seven years with the addition of Scully-Fahey Field, Boss Tennis Center and Gordon Pavilion, Blackman Football Practice Fields, and the McLane Family Skiway Lodge, along with substantial renovations to the golf course, squash facilities, and Leverone Field House. The Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse and fields were dedicated in September 2005, and the $12 million Alumni Gymnasium renovation is almost complete. The 14,000-square-foot fitness center, more than three times the size of the College's previous facility, opened on the upper floor of Alumni Gym in April. It is the largest centralized fitness area in the Ivy League. Other Alumni Gym improvements include new and larger spaces for fitness and recreation for the entire campus community, air-quality upgrades to the Karl Michael Pool, better accessibility through a new entrance and elevator, and upgraded coaches' offices. The groundbreaking ceremony for a new intercollegiate soccer facility was held on September 23.

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