Dedication ceremonies for 3 campus projects set for Thursday, Friday
Laughrey Lecture Halls, Daktronics Engineering Hall and Lohr Building
The South Dakota State University campus community invites the public to come “Look What We’re Doing” as it celebrates three dedications over a two-day period beginning today (Thursday, April 26).
Avera Health and Science Center
The ceremonies kick off Thursday with the 3 p.m. dedication of the Laughrey Lecture Halls in the Avera Health and Science Center. The lecture halls are named in honor of Brookings native Bruce Laughrey, a longtime loyal supporter of SDSU. Laughrey graduated from the College of Pharmacy at South Dakota State College in 1963. The Laughrey Lecture Halls provide cutting-edge tools to enrich the teaching and learning experience for SDSU students.
On Friday, the newly named Daktronics Engineering Hall on Eight Street will be dedicated at a 3 p.m. ceremony. The event will take place on the south side of the building. In the case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be in the Volstorff Ballroom in the Student Union.
With the completion of the west addition of the two-phase project, the building will be home to physics, electrical engineering and computer science. Phase I of the project was dedicated in spring 2009.
Daktronics Engineering Hall
In recognition of more than $5 million in gifts from Daktronics Inc. and its top officers (Brookings residents Jim Morgan, Al Kurtenbach and Duane Sander), the state Board of Regents approved naming Phase I and Phase II of the Electrical Engineeing and Computer Science Building as Daktronics Engineering Hall. With Friday’s dedication, nearly 200,000 square feet of new and renovated space has been created for the College of Engineering within the past 12 years.
The final dedication is for the Jerome J. Lohr Building at the corner of Eighth Street and Medary Avenue. The building is home to the SDSU Foundation. The dedication ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m. outside the main entrance; an open house will follow at 5 p.m. In the case of inclement weather, the ceremony will occur in a conference room on the top floor of the building.
Jerome J. Lohr Building
Lohr, a 1958 civil engineering graduate, is owner of J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines in Califonrnia. He is a co-chair of the university’s comprehensive campaign, It Starts with STATE: A Campaign for South Dakota State University. He also chaired the university’s previous successful comprehensive campaign, Visions for the Future.
“The Foundation building was recently renamed to honor Lohr’s role in creating the culture of giving that exists at SDSU, based on his fundraising efforts and his leadership in the university’s only two comprehensive campaigns,” said Steve Erpenbach, president and CEO of the Foundation.
The Laughrey Lecture Halls and Daktronics Engineering Hall are two of many projects being funded by gifts and pledges made to the SDSU Foundation in support of It Starts with STATE: A Campaign for South Dakota State University. The campaign aims to raise $200 million by the end of 2012. Nearly $184 million in gifts and pledges has been raised to date. Funds raised will increase scholarships for students, strengthen faculty excellence, support expanded research opportunities, build and revitalize facilities, and invest in athletics, museums, the arts and international experiences. To learn more, visit www.ItStartswithState.org or call the SDSU Foundation toll-free at 1-888-747-7378.