Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, students design their new center
A pool table, one of many activities available at the new Student Center at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, is seen in the foreground as Jason Donahue, Student Government Association president, speaks to an audience gathered Tuesday for the center’s dedication and official opening. While students at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, got just about everything they wanted in their new Student Center, the 10,000-gallon aquarium will have to wait.
Campus officials, faculty, staff and students gathered in the lower level of the Williams Building Tuesday afternoon to officially open the new Student Center, which had been formerly used as the cafeteria. The cafeteria is now located in the new Community Center, which opened in August.
Dr. Gregory Gray, campus executive officer, said the Student Government Association (SGA) officers approached him last year about a student center while the Community Center was still under construction.
“I asked the students to design it, and they worked with classes here on campus to develop their ideas,” he said. “They wanted the aquarium and to expand the center, but those may happen in the future.”
Gray expected financial support from the University for the Student Center, but was denied funding for the project. He said he next approached Wolford Swimmer and his family, who has helped the campus in a number of ways, including the Coal and Coke Center, scholarships, the library and Swimmer Hall, located across from the new center. The family continued its longtime support by financing the cafeteria’s renovation into a Student Center.
“We want to say thank you to this wonderful family,” he said, unveiling a plaque inside the center thanking the Swimmer Family for “making the Student Center possible.”
Swimmer then joined SGA officers in cutting the ribbon of the center, marking its official dedication.
Jason Donahue, SGA vice president, who spoke on behalf of the student population, said the center was “conceived and inspired” by Penn State Fayette students and the center’s opening shows that the campus is student-centered.
“This vision of our campus will last into the future, thanks to the faculty, staff and our benefactors,” he said.
Students in Penn State’s architectural engineering classes developed the Student Center site plans based on student input, according to Chad Long, assistant to the director of student affairs.
“There was a constant dedication that this space be geared to students wants and needs,” he said. “This center will enhance the out-of-classroom experience.”
Long encouraged students to take advantage of the center, the first of its kind at the local campus, noting it was not an option available to him while he was a student.
Chairs, tables and televisions are dotted throughout the space, which also has a pool table, ping-pong tables, a foosball table and an air hockey table, Long said.
One corner of the area has a stage for performances, and a portion of the room can be turned into a dance floor. Computers are located in the center, and students with laptops have wireless Internet access anywhere in the site.
Long said a coffeehouse and information desk are also available for students, where they can purchase drinks and snacks or check out board games, a Sony PlayStation or equipment for any of the game tables in the center.
The Student Center is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.