More than 200 industry professionals, community leaders and local celebrities attended the April 3 debut of “Lifescape: A Video Portrait of Marshall Bennett” at the school’s Heller College of Business and the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, (MBIRE), Roosevelt University, Wabash Building, 425 S. Wabash, Chicago. The permanent installation opened to the students, faculty and the general public on April 4.
The installation was produced by Bennett’s daughter, author Bija Bennett, and features a film directed by noted video artist Lincoln Schatz with music recorded by Cellist Ken Olsen of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who performed at the reception. Newton Minow, longtime family friend, was there to introduce Marshall during the program.
Now 92, Marshall Bennett is a visionary in real estate development and one of the inventors of the modern industrial park. He co-founded the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate, along with Gerald Fogelson and Tony Pasquinelli, among others, at Roosevelt University in 2002, dedicated to fostering education and innovation in real estate through business, social responsibility, and community development.
Born on the south side of Chicago, Bennett has had a life-long commitment to philanthropy in the arts, medicine, culture and diplomacy and has supported both civic and global endeavors including the Clinton Foundation and the Albert Einstein Peace Prize Foundation. His work includes his service as a Life Trustee of the Northshore Medical Group where he founded the Arlene and Marshall Bennett Chair in Neurosurgery. Other donations include the Arlene & Marshall Bennett Research Laboratory in Adolescent Psychiatry, Michael Reese Hospital and the Bennett/Pritzker Department of Women’s Health, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel.
A longtime supporter of the arts, Bennett is a Life Trustee of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra where he established the principal second chair, violin, Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and the Ravinia Festival Association, where he co-established the Bennett Gordon Concert Hall for student performances. Since its founding in 2002, the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate has grown to become one of the largest graduate real estate programs in the country and one of the most diverse. Roosevelt University, a national leader in educating socially conscious citizens, is a private, student-centered university with 6,300 students studying at comprehensive campuses in the Chicago Loop and northwest suburban Schaumburg and online. Founded on the principles of inclusion and social justice, Roosevelt offers academic programs in arts and sciences, business, performing arts, education and pharmacy. For more information, visit www.roosevelt.edu/realestate. To view an excerpt from the video portrait visit www.bijab.com.
Media contact: Dyana Flanigan Flanigan Communications, Inc. 312.464.9668 dkflanigan@flanigancom.com