Officials dedicate new UC, thank students for funding

About 200 people gathered to dedicate the new $18 million University Center addition in the second floor ballroom on March 5.

“It is wonderful to dedicate and open this addition to our University Center,” President Rodney Mabry told the crowd. “It is quite a nice place as you can see from this portion and I hope that you will look at other parts of this addition.”

The 43,400 square foot addition is being paid entirely by a $100 per semester student union fee University students approved four years ago, Mabry said.

The student union fee brings in slightly more than $1 million a year, Sheryl Dennis, assistant vice president for business affairs said.

SGA President Kerrie Ambort, center, Nouveau Construction and Technology Services Chief of Operations Miles Koon, left, and University President Rodney Mabry officially open the new University Center addition with a ribbon cutting at the dedication ceremony on March 5 in the UCN ballroom. Photo by Christy Grant

“We need to thank our students for this facility because they ended up paying for all of it,” Mabry said. “They understood the need and they said ‘if you think you can get the money for the rest of the building’ and that did happen, so it is all coming together.”

Dr. Howard Patterson, vice president for student affairs, said former students are one of the main reasons why the new University Center was built.

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank the ones that cannot be with us today. This building is funded and will continue to be funded entirely by a student fee,” he said.

Patterson said the students voted on the extra fee because they wanted to do something more for the University and not deprive future students of a place where they could relax during the school day.

Plans for the new University Center developed after Mabry, Dr. Dale Lunsford, former vice president of student affairs and external relations and Patterson met to discuss where students could relax between classes.

“President Mabry especially wanted a Sports Café and to have a relaxed area where students could come and watch a football game, catch up with their friends and watch the latest YouTube videos,” Michael O’Donnell, assistant vice chancellor for facilities, planning and construction for the University of Texas system said. “The campus also needed a large gathering room for student conferences and receptions and all of these were included in the University Center plans.”

Smith County Judge Joel Baker said the new facility is a vital part of the community and something the citizens should be proud of when they attend events at the University.

“I have watched UT Tyler grow from very humble beginnings to this wonderful building that you see here today and a nationally known University,” Baker said. “It is an incredible addition not only to the University, but also to this community.”

O’Donnell said a setback in construction due to inclement weather in 2007 had University officials setting a new goal for the building.

Gregg Lassen, vice president for business affairs made a call to O’Donnell stating Mabry wanted the team to pick up the pace and get the project done.

“We energized our new goal ‘January or Else’ after that phone call in September and we had the University’s team led by Chip Clark, the AED [architect, engineering and design] group led by Jacobs Carter Burgess and a new construction company in Nouveau set up to finish the project in time for the start of the spring semester,” he said.

Patterson said with all of the rainfall, members of the administration and students had their curiosity sparked about what could arise from the new addition.

“When this building came into construction, you could go to that window on the third floor and look down and most people thought we were starting an aquatic program,” Patterson said jokingly. “The water was that deep and we could have lost some people if we would have done that.”

Kerrie Ambort, president of the Student Government Association, said the addition adds to the beauty of the campus.

“The University Center is a wonderful addition to the already beautiful UT Tyler campus,” she said. “Thank you to President Mabry, the UT system, thank you to the president’s cabinet and the students who are sharing the commitment to the growth of our beautiful campus.”

The University Jazz Patriots provided the music for the event and SGA officials guided tours following the dedication.

By Joseph Elerson Staff Writer