Sidney David Eskenazi

Sidney David Eskenazi was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 25, 1930. Growing up during the Depression, Eskenazi learned about hard work at an early age; he began working at 13. He graduated from Shortridge High School in 1947 and then enrolled at Indiana University. Eskenazi spent his summers taking classes at Butler University and, as a result, received his B.S. degree in Business from IU in 1950. He immediately enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law and three years later received his LL.B. Over the years, Eskenazi built a successful career as a lawyer and a commercial real estate developer. In 1963 he founded Sandor Development, which has grown to be one of the largest privately-held shopping center developers in the nation, owning and operating over 8 million square feet of retail space across 25 states. He also served as managing partner in an 18 member Indianapolis law firm. Eskenazi and his wife Lois are recognized as philanthropic leaders in central Indiana and many of their gifts have benefitted Indiana University. In the 1970s, they endowed a scholarship fund for law students on both the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. Similarly, they have established scholarships at IU’s Herron School of Art and the IU Medical School. The building that houses the Herron School was named after the Eskenazis in 2007 and in 2011 their $40 million gift enabled the Eskenazi Health Foundation to build new hospital facilities in Indianapolis. The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital and Eskenazi Health campus officially opened in December 2013. In 2016, the Eskenazis donated $15 million to the Indiana University Art Museum to assist in the renovation of that building. The museum is now known as the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art. Eskenazi was awarded the IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award in both 1991 and 2007. He was award the Indiana University Presidents Circle Laurel Pin in 2013 and was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2007. Eskenazi and his wife were presented honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the University in 2018.https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/1122/thumbnail.jp