March 4, 2024
A gift from Board of Trustees Chairman Emeritus Doy Henley will establish the Doy B. Henley School of Management within the Argyros College of Business and Economics. The gift was announced following Chapman University’s 2024 State of the University address on Feb. 9. “Chapman is what it is today because of Doy Henley and his incredible leadership on the Board of Trustees,” said Chapman President Daniele C. Struppa, who announced the gift with Henley on the Musco Center stage amid confetti and applause. “With his great success in the business community and as a board leader, it’s fitting that the school of management will bear his name.” This is Henley’s second gift to Argyros College in the past year. In November, Henley gave a $1 million gift to establish an endowed fund that is dedicated to driving innovation initiatives within the college. Henley owned Aeromil Aircraft Engineering, which pioneered a manufacturing method to machine special surfaces in aerospace products. He also owned Cox Hobbies, one of the earliest companies to use electronic data for supply chain management. He joined the Board of Trustees in 1986 and served as chairman from 2013 to 2015. He is the recipient of the Presidential Medal, Chapman’s highest honor, as well as the C.C. Chapman Distinguished Service Award. Along with his wife, Dee, Henley’s impact can be felt throughout campus. Their philanthropy includes the Doy B. Henley Chair in American Presidential Studies, the Doy and Dee Henley Chair and Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence, Henley Hall, the Doy and Dee Henley Reading Room in Leatherby Libraries, Dee’s Garden of the Senses at Fish Interfaith Center and Doy’s Holiday Tree Lighting at Winterfest. The gift bolsters Chapman’s strategic plan goal to raise $500 million through its Inspire campaign. More than $370 million has been raised. The gift will help propel Argyros College toward the university’s strategic goal of earning a top 50 business school ranking. Recent years have witnessed remarkable progress, with Argyros climbing more than 25 places in national rankings. In May 2023, it surged from No. 72 to No. 60 in the Best Business Schools rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Along with Henley’s gift funding innovation, other gifts have bolstered the college’s momentum. They include $10 million from the Argyros family to elevate the former Argyros School of Business and Economics to a college, $5 million from Jim and Kay Burra to create the Burra School of Accounting and Finance and an additional gift to create the Burra Executive Professor in Accounting, a gift from the Shah Happiness Foundation to fund the Shah Family Endowed Chair in Innovativeness, a gift from former U.S. ambassador Ron Spogli to establish the Doti-Spogli Chair in Free Enterprise, and a gift from Trustee Rick Muth to create the Rick Muth Family Chair in Economics
