Clarksville, Ark. --- University of the Ozarks will celebrate the successful completion of its Promise of Excellence Campaign as well as dedicate several new facilities during a special ceremony at 4:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 7, in the Rogers Student & Community Conference Center.
The celebration ceremony will include donors and friends of the university as well as students, faculty, staff and alumni. The five-year, $40 million Promise of Excellence Campaign ended on March 31 with nearly $40.6 million raised to enhance the University’s ability to provide high quality educational services to students. The ceremony will also include the dedication of several new facilities and rooms on campus, including the Borck Dining area, the Rogers Conference Center, the Mabee Fitness Center and Trustee Residence Hall.
"This is a day for the university community to say Thank You," said Steve Edmisten, executive vice president. "The supporters of this University have transformed the lives of young men and women for the better."
Among the components of the campaign was a 14,000-square-foot expansion of the Seay Student Center, which was completed in August of 2011. The expansion includes the Rogers Conference Center, a 7,000-square-foot facility that can seat up to 700 people and will allow the University to host local, state and regional meetings and conferences. Within the Rogers Center there are the Taylor, Bruning, Bean and Hanna rooms.
The bottom level of the Seay Student Center expansion includes the new Mabee Fitness Center that features the Rawhouser Weight & Fitness Room and the Boreham Aerobics Room. The University will also dedicate Trustee Hall, an apartment-style residence hall that houses 20 students.
The Promise of Excellence Campaign was launched on Valentine’s Day in 2006 with the announcement in Munger Chapel that Helen Robson Walton had kicked off the fund-raising effort with a lead gift of $20 million. Since that time, 4,079 different individuals and organizations followed Mrs. Walton’s lead and committed more than $20 million additional to the Campaign. Their gifts have gone toward scholarships, faculty and staff positions, academic programs, co-curricular programming, facilities improvements, new facilities and more.
The Promise of Excellence Campaign is part of a massive fund-raising initiative by Ozarks that began in 1998 with the $60 million Pride & Promise Campaign. Since that time, more than $130 million has been given by 6,386 donors to improve Ozarks and support its students.
The Campaign celebration ceremony will also include dinner on the campus mall. There is no charge to attend the event, and alumni, friends and supporters of the University are invited. If you would like to attend the ceremony, please RSVP to Karla Wood-Holt at 979-1230.
Topics: Campaign