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Colden Center gets $10M from two alums

By Scott Sieber

The college announced the renaming will occur in conjunction with the establishment of an endowment to provide annual programming support for the arts as well as for general renovations.Some of the money will be used to establish new signage, Web site upgrades and a changing of the logo to reflect the new name, abbreviated to the Kupferberg Center for the Arts.”A donation like this is very valuable because it allows us to make all these new improvements,” said Colden Center director Vivian Charlop. “It's very tough on a college campus to get all the funding for improvements you need to make annually. This makes it a lot easier.”The center was originally named after Judge Charles Colden, who President James Muyskens said was instrumental in helping to establish the college in the 1930s.The name of the auditorium, Colden Auditorium, will remain, he said. But Colden Center, which encompasses a number of the college's arts programs, will now fall under the Kupferberg name.An official dedication ceremony will be held on Thursday, March 30, at 10 a.m., at the main entrance to the Colden Center with alumni Max Kupferberg and his wife Selma.There, the college will honor the Kupferbergs in the presence of several of the city's elected officials.”We're delighted he's remembering his alma matter this way,” said Muyskens.Max Kupferberg graduated from Queens College with a bachelor's of science in physics in 1942. He attended New York University until World War II when he and two of his brothers began work on the Manhattan Project, conducting nuclear research at Los Alamos, N.M.When the war ended, Max and his three brothers, Ken, Jesse and Jack founded KEPCO, Inc. in Flushing, a firm specializing in electronics.He and his wife live in Bayside with their two children and are active members of the Queens College alumni who provide annual scholarships to the Physics Department and regular financial support to the Colden Center.A Queens College spokeswoman said the Kupferbergs would prefer not to comment on their gift and the renaming.The college announced the renaming and Kupferberg funds are part of a broad capital campaign to refurbish the Colden Center with new seats, flooring, aisle and stage lighting.The college is seeking additional support for the center's lobbies and restrooms.For additional information, contact the college at 718-997-3920, or visit the Web site at www.qc.cuny.edu.Reach reporter Scott Sieber by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.