Opening Marks Completion of Campus Center

At a signal from SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley, the assembled dignitaries raised their golden hammers. They tapped upon a wall emblazoned with photos of the Campus Center being built: the groundbreaking in 2003, the "Big Dig", steel going up and finishing touches. And then they burst through, from the arena/convocation center building opened last fall into the former Swetman Hall, now newly remodeled to house student organizations, student services and more.

A day of festivities Oct. 12 included tours of the new facility, a presentation honoring donors to the center and a Laker men's hockey game.

"This building is a structure of bricks and mortar, but it represents what this community is all about," said Stanley. "This breakthrough connects our campus in an academic, social and community sense. [The Campus Center] has come to represent what we on this campus are all about. It is our mission."

Then- state Sen. Jim Wright '71 recalled his time as a freshman on campus, when academic building and residence halls were brand new in 1967. "That was the last time an investment was made, until we started to transform this campus under the leadership of President Stanley," he said. She insured that investments were made with students in mind, he said, so that "student life would be enhanced and students would in turn carry those expectations with them, as I have."

Dr. Susan Camp, chair of the Faculty Assembly, noted that "The history of collaboration is evident today." She praised the work of the Campus Concept Committee, which included faculty, staff and students in making decisions about the building.

Armand E. Sabitoni, general secretary-treasurer and New England Regional manager of the Laborers' Internation Union of North America, praised the "enthusiasm and electricity I see." He said that Stanley and the campus community had "accomplished a magnificent atmosphere of learning."