Real estate businessman and entrepreneur Charles S. Ackerman has fulfilled a pledge to gift $1 million to the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University to name the museum’s reception hall, the Charles S. Ackerman Hall (Ackerman Hall). This transformative gift to the museum’s endowment will ensure that important programs and critical needs will be funded well into the future. The museum held a dedication for Ackerman Hall on Oct. 13.
Ackerman, a dedicated supporter of the Carlos Museum for over two decades, has served on the Advisory Board and as co-chair of the Board for 10 years. He has been a strong advocate of the museum, offering thoughtful guidance and leading by example.
Ackerman began his tenure as Advisory Board chair in 2003, the year the University returned the mummy of Ramesses I to Egypt, and accompanied Carlos staff to Cairo for the press conference and related activities. Over the years his generosity has been vast, ranging from introducing the museum to colleagues and friends, supporting and attending special events, to funding technology initiatives and important acquisitions.
“It is so wonderful to have the Ackerman name in the building and especially above the entrance to the beautiful reception hall where our community comes together for lectures, concerts, children’s activities, poetry readings, exhibition openings and so many special events,” says Bonnie Speed, museum director. “The reception hall is a place of learning and celebration; how appropriate that it will now be called Ackerman Hall.”
About the Michael C. Carlos Museum
The Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University brings priceless treasures mapping an extraordinary breadth of ancient cultures, customs, and legacies to the Atlanta community. Some 20,000 artifacts from ancient Egypt, the Near East, Nubia, Greece, Rome, the Americas, Asia, and Africa, as well as works on paper from the Renaissance to the present day, provide visitors with a glimpse into the art and history of world cultures. Located at the heart of Emory University’s Atlanta campus and exhibited in the landmark building designed by noted architect Michael Graves, these works of art and artifacts reveal the Carlos Museum’s meticulous care for the legacy of ancient civilizations and the learning opportunities innate in each artifact.