Before the Ebeid Student Center was dedicated at Lourdes College earlier this year, students had no designated space on campus for relaxing and studying.

Thanks to a major donation by Russell J. Ebeid, a Detroit native and businessman, students now have their own center, complete with a pool table, table tennis, stage for small acoustic music events and poetry readings, as well as offices for student groups.

Lourdes College President Robert Helmer, left, and Russell J. Ebeid.

Ebeid, president of Guardian Industries Glass Group, the third largest flat glass producer in the world, made the donation in honor of his granddaughter, Kristina Ebeid, a Sylvania resident who recently graduated from the school.

“When I’d go down to Toledo to see my grandchildren and two of my kids, who live in the Toledo area, they’d take me down to Lourdes College,” he said. “I thought it was a quaint school with the right attitude, where they were making education more flexible, with night school and things like that. It kind of reminded me of my grade school and high school days.”

During one of his visits, Ebeid said he learned of the need for a student center and decided to contribute. He declined to share the amount of his donation.

“I’m not looking for any attention for myself, other than to maybe set an example,” he said.

The son of immigrants who settled in inner-city Detroit and “never got out of grade school,” Ebeid said his parents instilled in him a strong work ethic and stressed the importance of education. His first philanthropic efforts involved giving away tuition scholarships to disadvantaged high school students at his alma mater, the former Detroit Holy Redeemer High School.

“Since I’ve been somewhat successful in business life, I want to not only pay back, but carry the torch for more people to have the advantages that I have,” he explained.

Ebeid said he is pleased with how the student center turned out and praised the students for designing a multipurpose space.

“I was ecstatic because, normally when you go to school you kind of think of something regimented, and here it was done by the students in an eclectic manner, and I say that positively,” he said. “The walls are not all the same color, the chalkboard was painted on, which I had never seen. I was told the students designed it all, and I thought it was a fantastic job.”

Having the student center named after him serves as a legacy for his family, Ebeid said, and honors his heritage, as well as his parents. He said he hopes his contribution to Lourdes College will spur on his family to think about philanthropy.

“I look at it more as a way of trying to generate philanthropy with my children and grandchildren,” he said. “My parents never had enough, other than to give a little money on Sunday at church.

“Since I have a little bit more means, I hope this generates some empathy by my kids and their kids.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 11:56 pm and is filed under Philanthropy, Special Section.
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