VANCOUVER — Ed and Mary Firstenburg, through the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, have given $1 million to Washington State University Vancouver to create the Firstenburg Student Commons. The WSU Board of Regents approved the naming at its regularly scheduled meeting held Nov. 18 in Seattle.
The gift will allow WSU Vancouver to purchase the current campus bookstore, previously owned by the Students Book Corp., and convert it into a unified student center for the campus.
The remodeled building will contain the Student Leadership Center and will initially house training and conference meeting spaces, career counseling, student activities, student government offices and a student commons area.
The student commons area will be a multiuse space, configured to encourage student events and casual use, in addition to public and campus activities.
“This is a permanent legacy for the Firstenburg family and for WSU Vancouver,” said Chancellor Hal Dengerink. “The Firstenburg Student Commons will provide a much needed space on campus for students. We are truly grateful to the Firstenburgs and the Community Foundation for their generosity.”
The Firstenburg family owns and operates First Independent Bank. Ed Firstenburg joined the bank in 1936 when it was Ridgefield State Bank, founded in 1910. Today, First Independent Bank has 25 offices in Bellevue, Vancouver and Portland, Ore. The bank has more than $500 million in assets and is now the largest privately owned financial institution in Washington.
Jeanne Firstenburg, chief operating officer and senior vice president of First Independent Bank, serves on the WSU Vancouver Advisory Council.
WSU Vancouver offers 15 bachelors and eight master’s degrees in more than 35 fields of study. The campus is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205.
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