Chapman Business School Is Named After Argyros

In a move to honor one of its most prominent graduates, Chapman University said Monday it is naming its business and economics school after Orange County developer George L. Argyros.

The name change was announced as the business school moved on Monday into Beckman Hall, a $22-million business and technology center on the Orange campus.

Argyros, who has donated millions of dollars to the school and has chaired its board of trustees since 1976, is “the most significant donor in Chapman’s history,” said university President James Doti.

The drive to honor Argyros, who graduated from Chapman’s business school in 1959, was launched by faculty members last September, although the effort had been discussed for years, Doti said.

Argyros is chairman and chief executive officer of Arnel & Affiliates, a Costa Mesa investment firm. He owned AirCal and the Seattle Mariners baseball team, throughout the 1980s. He also sits on several boards, including First American Financial Corp., based in Santa Ana, and Rockwell International Corp.

In 1992, the university named its student union and campus center Argyros Forum, in his honor.