PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University alumni and friends are invited back to campus to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the landmark Lewis Alumni Centre with a free, public open house beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 28. Guests can park in the adjacent parking lot.
The event will include refreshments, displays depicting the center’s history and future, and conversations with WSU Alumni Association volunteer leaders and other WSU dignitaries, including members of the original building committee.
“The Lewis Alumni Centre is here today thanks to the generosity of literally thousands of Cougars,” said Tim Pavish, executive director of the association. “It’s 23,000 square feet of Cougar can-do spirit. When someone says ‘it can’t be done,’ Cougs do it.”
A landmark structure on the Pullman campus, the center was originally a barn designed in 1922 and constructed as a training and activity center for a variety of agricultural activities and programs. But following decades of use for a variety of purposes by WSU students and faculty, the barn fell into disuse and was slated for demolition.
However, a group of dedicated WSU alumni convinced the university to spare the building and instead renovate the structure as an alumni center. Renovation commenced in 1983 at a cost of $4 million, all of which was raised among Cougar alumni and friends who also donated carpeting, artwork and countless hours of sweat equity to the project.
When the building reopened as the Lewis Alumni Centre in March 1989, it featured the original massive beams of the old barn and a converted loft that serves as the center’s great hall.
The facility is an active and vibrant centerpiece of the WSU Pullman campus, where meetings are held, memories shared, friendships renewed and where students, faculty, staff and alumni engage in the support and celebration of their university.
Please direct questions to alumnievents@wsu.edu or 509-335-2586.
Contact:
Katie Savage, WSU Alumni Association, 509-335-6902, katie.savage@wsu.edu