The Donors made Campus Center a reality

The new student lounge in the Campus Center, donated by the Class of 1946. Photo by Jonathan Pesch

The Campus Center, which opened March 19, cost just over 17 million dollars to build. Alumni and corporations donated much of that money. Many people who donated money to the Campus Center through the Capital Campaign have had rooms named after them. Also, plaques were placed in the rooms saying whom that room was a gift from.

Corporations that donated to the Campus Center have their logos placed on a Corporate Partners Wall, placed on the wall outside the Odeum room. The cost for each logo is ten thousand dollars. Corporations that will have their logo on the wall include: Chartwells, Compaq Computer Corporation, General Electric, General Motors, Nortel Networks, Pfizer Inc., Procter and Gamble, Raytheon Corporation, Tatnuck Bookseller and Sons, Verizon, and Xerox Corporation. In addition, Chartwells donated money for the food servery, and Tatnuck Booksellers donated money for the bookstore.

The entrance area on the second level is named the Bartlett Lobby. It is a gift of Shirley V. and James L. Bartlett Jr. '39. At WPI, Bartlett was treasurer and bookkeeper for Phi Sigma Kappa. Bartlett is president of Bardex Corp., a maker of heavy-duty moving and lifting equipment for offshore oil drilling and ship repair facilities. He said in Quest, a WPI publication, "This is going to be a wonderful facility - something WPI has needed for a long time."

The dining area on the first floor is named Forkey Commons. It is a gift of Janet R. and Raymond J. Forkey '40. They contributed over 500 thousand dollars to the Campus Center. Forkey was co-captain of the basketball team, captain of the baseball team, and a fullback on WPI's football team. He was house manager of Sigma Phi Epsilon and member of Skull. He is the permanent president of the Class of 1940. Forkey was inducted into the WPI Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983. They have also funded the Forkey Conference Room in Harrington Auditorium and the expansion and renovation of Higgins Lab.

The terrace outside of Forkey Commons near Higgins House will be named the Burt Garden Terrace. It is a gift of Harold D. Burt '33. Burt gave his Virginia Beach waterfront home to WPI so that the university could sell it. He wanted the 500 hundred thousand dollars that was raised by the sale to go to the Campus Center. Burt worked with the Army Corps of Engineers for 35 years.

The wing of the Campus Center containing the Student Life offices and the Student Publications Suite has been named for Edna and Douglas G. Noiles '44. They donated $518,724 towards the project. After Noiles' sophomore year at WPI, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and spent 12 months in the South Pacific. After the war, Noiles returned to WPI to finish his degree in mechanical engineering. Noiles was honored with a honorary doctor of engineering degree from WPI in 1999.

The multi-purpose room, named the Odeum, is a gift of Joan and Robert C. Appenzeller '46. They donated just over $500,000 thousand dollars towards the construction. In July 1943 Appenzeller enrolled at WPI as a sophomore under the Navy's V-12 officer training program. He graduated with the Class of 1946 in June of 1945, because of WPI's accelerated wartime schedule. He told the Quest, "From all I've learned about WPI's new campus center, I'm convinced that it will add a significant new dimension to the quality of campus life for the entire WPI community."

The large octagonal conference room on the third floor is named the Hagglund Room, for Professor Raymond R. Hagglund '56 and his wife Joyce. They have given over 400 thousand dollars to WPI, including money for the Campus Center. Hagglund came to WPI on a full tuition scholarship. After he graduated, he became part of the Mechanical Engineering department as an instructor. He has a solid reputation as a consultant and an expert witness in product safety liability cases. "The income I receive from consulting is over and above what I earn by teaching so I can direct some of that money into the stock market," he says. "When the stock market gains, I'm able to direct a portion of that money back to WPI. Years ago, someone made a major investment in my future. I consider it a privilege to now be in a position to return some of the profits from that investment."

The new studio for WWPI is a gift from James M. Smith Jr. and the Macamor Foundation. The foundation made a 50 thousand dollar contribution to the Campus Center. James E. Smith '06 graduated from WPI with a degree in electrical engineering. He founded the National Radio Institute in 1914, preparing students for jobs as radio technicians, operators and repairmen. His son, James Morrison Smith '37 graduated from WPI with a degree in chemical engineering. James E.'s grandson, Michael Galbraith, graduated for WPI in 1958 also with a degree in chemical engineering.

Michael W. Donahue '90 designated a gift of 50 thousand dollars towards the construction of a room for the Student Government Association. Donahue was the student body president from 1989 to 1990. He was also a resident advisor and a member of Theta Chi. He was very involved in convincing students and the Trustees of the need for a Campus Center. He wrote a letter to the student body in September 1989 asking them to "show the trustees that a campus center is indeed a worthy investment."

It has been announced that the wing of the Campus Center for the student oganizations on the third floor will be named the William R. Grogan Student Organization Wing. Grogan graduated from WPI in 1946 with a degree in electrical engineering. He joined the faculty after graduation. Grogan was head of the planning committee which drafted the WPI Plan. He later became Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and retired in 1990. The gift naming the wing was provided by Ronald L. Zarrella '71. Zarrella is the chairman of the Board of Trustees, and was a member of a student committee involved with the creation of the WPI Plan.