SIDNEY ESKENAZI
Information on Sidney's Life
Sidney Eskenazi was a student at Indiana University located in Bloomington Indiana. While he attended IU, he was introduced to his wife, Lois from a mutual friend. Once the couple met, the rest is history. Once the couple married, Sidney decided to create a real estate company called, Sandor Development Co. In 1970, Sidney created a scholarship at IU. The couple supported the arts heavily, which lead Indiana University to name Eskenazi Hall, located in IU's Herron School of Art and Design. Throughout their life together, the couple made generous donations to multiple hospitals, schools and other foundations. Since the couple donated to local hospitals, they were approached regarding new plans for a new and updated hospital located downtown in Indianapolis. Once the couple saw how important it was to have an updated hospital, they donated over 40 million dollars to Wishard Health Services. Since their donation was so grand, the hospital decided to change their name to, Eskenazi Health.
GROWING UP IN THE DEPRESSION
Sidney Eskenazi Childhood and Early Adult Life
Eskenazi was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on March 25, 1930. For him, he was growing up during the Great Depression, and it was not an easy time. Eskenazi from a very young age learned what hard work truly meant and how to keep his mind going. He began working at the age of 13 to help his family stay afloat during the difficult time. While he was working as a young teenager, Sidney maintained his education. His parents made sure that all of their children would have a high school education. With that being said, Eskenazi kept his head down, and made sure he would fulfill his parents dreams. He stayed in school and in 1947 graduated from Shortridge High School.
During the time he graduated High School, Eskenazi used his time by taking summer classes at Butler University. He figured that before he would attend Indiana University in the fall, to get a head start on his education. This made his parents very proud. The classes that he was taking at Butler University, lead him down the path of business. As a result, he graduated Indiana University with a B.S. in business in 1950.
After his time at Indiana University, he still wanted to gain more from his education. Without any hesitation, Sidney Eskenazi enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law. He wanted to become a lawyer to help those who could not be fully represented because of money. Eskenazi understood that no matter what your economic background might be, you should always be able to have a lawyer. This mind set helped him graduate in three years and he received his LL.B.
After graduating and receiving his law degree, Eskenazi started to build a successful career as a lawyer. While his main focus was helping those who needed it, Eskenazi started to gain a following for commercial real estate.
SANDOR DEVELOPMENT
Sidney Eskenazi created his own development called, Sandor Development. This has grown to be one of the largest privately-held shopping center developers in the nation (1). The Sandor Development owns and operates over 8 million square feet of retail space across 25 different states. The company has been in business for over 55 years. Sidney Eskenazi's first client is the late Simon Mall founder, Melvin Simon (2.) The company was founded on February 14, 1632 in Indianapolis. Their first development project, building a Kmart store in Kokomo, Indiana (2). From there, the business boomed with many retail companies wanting to use Sandor was their developer.
SIDNEY AND LOIS ESKENAZI
The Power Couple
Sidney Eskenazi and his wife Lois have always been givers. When they first met in college, both of them had the love of giving back to their community. Since this was the case, they gave back to the place where they first met, Indiana University. Since then, they have been recognized as philanthropic leaders in central Indiana. A majority of their donations have been given to Indiana University. In the early 1970s, the couple endowed a scholarship fund for law students on both Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses (1). They have helped many students successfully graduate from Indiana University due to their scholarship. One of the main scholarships that they are most proud of is at IU's Herron School of Art, and the IU Medical School. To thank the Eskenazi's IU dedicated the building that houses the Herron School to be named after the couple in 2007. Later in 2011, the Eskenazi's donated over $40 million to Eskenazi Health Foundation to build a new hospital in central Indiana.
The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital and the Eskenazi campus was officially opened and ready to be used in December of 2013. With this large contribution, this has helped many natives of Indianapolis.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
"Sidney and Lois Eskenazi are humble and compassionate individuals who share Eskenazi Health's spirit of community and commitment to improving the lives of others," said Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO of Eskenazi Health. "We are deeply grateful for their continued support and congratulate them on receiving the Sagamore of the Wabash."
According to Todd Harper, "the term "sagamore" was used by the Native Americans in the northeastern United States to describe a great man—or woman—among the tribe to whom the chief would look for wisdom, guidance, and advice. Similarly, the Sagamore of the Wabash is given to those who have rendered distinguished service to the state and contributed greatly to Hoosiers statewide."
On May 28, 2013, Sidney and Lois Eskenazi both had the privilege of receiving the Sagamore of the Wabash award at a ceremony given by then Indiana Governor Mike Pence. This award is one of the highest recognitions for an individual in Indiana. With all of their philanthropic efforts to better the community of Indiana (and outside of Indy), it is without a doubt that they were worthy of this award.
SOURCES
1. Harper, Todd. “Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Receive Sagamore of the Wabash.” ESKENAZI HEALTH. Eskenazi Health, May 28, 2013. https://www.eskenazihealth.edu/news/sidney-and-lois-eskenazi-receive-sagamore-of-the-wabash.
2. Sandor. “Sidney David Eskenazi.” Digital Repository @ Maurer Law, www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/123/.
3. School of Law, Maurer. “Sidney David Eskenazi.” Digital Repository @ Maurer Law, www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/123/.