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May 2004
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NEWS
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The Freidheim Quadrangle, named for Eric A. Friedheim ‘32, got a spiffy new sign last month. Friedheim, for whom the SOC Friedheim Journalism Center is also named, played varsity football while at AU (right smack on the quad!) and wrote for the Eagle. He was never able to finish his degree because the depression hit and he couldn’t afford the $150 per-semester tuition at the time, but he always spoke fondly of AU for the friends he made and for giving him the confidence to start his journalism career. The quad was dedicated to him in 1991 after he donated $1 million to AU. There was a Friedheim Quad sign between the Kogod School and Battelle-Tompkins, explains Jerry Gager, director of facilities planning and development. “The sign was removed in summer 2000 to allow utility connections to the Battelle-Tompkins Building during it's remodeling." “We promised Mr. Friedheim that we’d erect a new sign, and in finishing parts of the quad, the new sign location was not determined until last summer. At that point, when we were making new signs for the buildings, it was determined that would be a good place to install the sign we had promised,” says Gager. “Dr. Ladner chose the spot. It’s a visible place and recognizes a special person to the university,” he adds.
Friedheim was a White House correspondent, book author, and he wrote a travel column for the Los Angeles Times for years. He served in the Air Force during World War II, rising to the rank of colonel. There’s also an Eric Friedheim Library at the National Press Club, notes Martin, and an award at the Kennedy Center named for his father, legendary concert pianist Arthur Friedheim. Although Eric Friedheim passed away in June 2002, at the age of 92, he will long be remembered for his generosity and love for AU. Hopefully, the many students who cross the quad bearing his name will find the same success that he did. -Melissa Reichley
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Friedheim
Quad Gets a New Sign
When
he left AU, Friedheim began his career as an editor for International
News Service in Washington, D.C., where he reported on everything from
the Washington Senators baseball team to the happenings of senators and
congressmen on Capitol Hill. He was best known, however, as editor-in-chief
and chairman of Travel Agent magazine, says SOC Assistant Dean
Patrick Martin. “At the time, it was the publication in
the travel industry. There’s a portrait and a plaque of him in the
Journalism Center,” notes Martin.