Art and Business Meet at Goizueta Business School

Ron and Barbara Balser are supporters of Emory’s Goizueta Business School, but they are firm believers that business knowledge alone does not make a leader.  This belief, coupled with their appreciation of art, led them to establish the Balser Art Collection to provide Goizueta Business School’s students and visitors with a diversified cultural resource.

“One should be well-rounded in all forms of visual and performing arts,” Barbara explains.  “An awareness and appreciation for art and embracing diversity are all part of one’s education.  It’s more than just a degree ... it’s a lifestyle.”

The Balser Art Collection is permanently housed in The Goizueta Foundation Center for Research and Doctoral Education.  The Collection consists of more than 180 pieces of art including works by Braque, Chagall, Dali, Hockney, Lichtenstein, Oldenberg, Picasso, Rauschenberg, Tamayo, Lipchitz, Miro, Murakami and Warhol, and four granite-crafted benches of Ron Balser’s own original designs.  In assembling the collection, the Balsers utilized both domestic and international resources. 

Ron and Barbara are co-CEOs of Balser Companies. Their daughters, Laura Balser and Ginger Balser Reid, as well as son-in-law Matthew D. Smith, are all Goizueta alumni. Barbara Balser has served on the Goizueta Business School Advisory Board since 1999.