March 24, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Tracy Schario: (202) 994-3566; tschario@gwu.edu
GW COMMUNITY MOURNS PASSING OF TRUSTEE EMERITUS
PHILIP S. AMSTERDAM
WASHINGTON - The George Washington University mourns the passing of alumnus and Trustee Emeritus Philip S. Amsterdam, B.A. '62, who died March 22, 2008. Amsterdam served as a member of the university's Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2007. He also was a charter member of the GW Arts and Sciences Council. In June 2007, the university conferred upon Amsterdam an honorary Doctor of Laws degree recognizing his decades of support and service to GW.
"Phil Amsterdam's level of dedication to GW was second to none," said Board Chairman W. Russell Ramsey, B.B.A. '81. "We shall all miss him dearly. At the same time, we will continue to draw inspiration from his many years of service, support, and philanthropy."
In his capacity as a member of the GW Board of Trustees, Amsterdam served on the Alumni and Development Committee, the Investment Committee, the Executive Committee, and a special committee for the Centuries Campaign. He established the inaugural Philip Amsterdam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2004, which recognizes the impact of graduate students on the educational process. Amsterdam received GW's Distinguished Alumni Service Award in April 2007 for his involvement in the improvement of the university.
"I was very sorry to learn of the passing of Phil Amsterdam, who embodied the spirit of The George Washington University in every way," said President Steven Knapp. "It is good to know that students and faculty will continue to benefit from his commitment to the institution through awards he helped create. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. We will now endeavor to find an appropriate way to celebrate his life and his long association with the university."
Amsterdam had a distinguished history of giving and was chairman of the Amsterdam Family Philanthropic Foundation and the Anna Amsterdam Eye Foundation. He and his wife, Gail, were longstanding supporters of GW. Their most recent gift of $5 million to the Trachtenberg Legacy Fund will support the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. The Amsterdams also contributed to the university in other many ways, including a substantial gift to the Department of Anthropology, from which he received his degree, establishing the Hortense Amsterdam House on G Street.
"He was the definitive trustee: thoughtful, generous, caring," said President Emeritus Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. "He loved the university, he loved learning, he loved faculty and students and he was thrilled whenever the Colonials won. Most of all, he was my friend. May he rest in peace."
Amsterdam was President and CEO of North Star Enterprises, Inc., a private company engaged in commercial building and heavy highway contracting.
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-GW-