Ethan Allen CEO Farooq Kathwari in his Danbury office. (Courtesy of Ethan Allen Inc.)
Farooq Kathwari, CEO of the Danbury-based Ethan Allen furniture company, and his wife, Farida, have made a $1 million donation to Western Connecticut State in support of the university’s honors program, the school announced on Thursday.
The program, which the school expects to grow from a little more than 200 students to 500, will now bear the Kathwari name.
“The values and goals of both the donor and the recipient are really in sync,” WCSU president James Schmotter told The News-Times. “Also, the heritage Farooq has as one of the nation’s top CEOs really makes it a great fit.”
Ethan Allen and WCSU have been linked since former CEO Nathan Ancell moved the company’s headquarters to Danbury in 1971, as the school is also home to the Ancell School of Business.