Who bought the buildings that compose Whitman College?

When Whitman College holds its official grand opening Sept. 26 and 27, students and administrators will pay tribute to the dozens of University alumni who contributed more than $136 million toward the creation of the newest residential college. The project, designed in the Gothic style by distinguished architect Demetri Porphyrios GS '74, was launched with a $30 million gift from eBay Inc., president and CEO Meg Whitman '77 and her family.

A number of the college's individual dorms, including Lauritzen Hall, Hargadon Hall, Fisher Hall and the Murley-Pivirotto Family Tower, are named in recognition of gifts made by families and groups that supported the effort financially.

Lauritzen Hall was funded by a $5.5 million donation by the Lauritzen family of Omaha, Neb., which has sent five family members, spanning three generations, to the University.

"Princeton is one of our nation's treasures," Bruce Lauritzen '65 said in an email. "As a top university it must continue to reinvest in itself and continually move the bar up, or it will go backwards compared to our competition." Whitman's dormitories, located between Baker Rink and Dillon Gym, will also make possible an 11 percent increase in Princeton's undergraduate student body, which will grow from 4,600 to 5,100 by 2012.

"I believe it is time for Princeton to grow its student body and to offer more people the opportunity to enjoy its rich curriculum," said Lauritzen, who is chairman of the First National Bank of Omaha.

Lauritzen Hall is connected to Hargadon Hall, named for Fred Hargadon, who served as the University's dean of admission from 1988 to 2004. The hall, complete with an arched bridge that connects Whitman College to the western reaches of campus, was funded by an anonymous gift from a group of three current and former University trustees.

Hargadon Hall is attached to Murley-Pivirotto Family Tower, a 100-ft. tall structure named after University trustee Robert Murley '72 and his wife, Mary Pivirotto Murley '76. The couple made their $2 million gift to commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary and the 35th anniversary of coeducation at Princeton. Bob Murley served on the search committee that selected Shirley Tilghman as Princeton's 19th president and served as national chair of the University's Annual Giving effort. The northernmost building of the new college is Fisher Hall, a gift from brothers Robert '76, Bill '79 and John '83 and their family. The family also funded three classrooms in Hargadon Hall in honor of the classes with which the brothers graduated.

The Fisher brothers, whose parents founded Gap Inc., in 1969, have long been major contributors to the University. The family also made possible the construction of the campus' other Fisher Hall, which is home to the economics department.

But this project is particularly meaningful to the siblings. "In a funny way, the building of Whitman College and Fisher Hall is a kind of returning home for us," Bill Fisher said, because it is built on land that was the former site of the University's tennis courts. All three Fishers played on the tennis team while at the University.

Fisher added that he hopes the new residential college, the first to be built from the ground up rather than pieced together from existing structures, will provide a venue for Princeton students to form strong bonds with their peers. At the opposite end of Whitman College is 1981 Hall, the first building on campus named for a class that graduated after World War II and the first dormitory to honor a coeducational class.

A small group of classmates anonymously contributed the funds to construct the hall and named the building after their class rather than themselves.

Overlooking both the North Court and South Court is Community Hall, which serves as the main dining facility. Named not for the University community but for the eBay community, the building was funded in honor of Meg Whitman by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pamela.