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The Coalfield Progress
November 11, 2003
UVA-Wise dedicates C. Bascom Slemp Student Center
By ROBERT BAIRD, Staff Writer
WISE - When asked several years ago, students said they wanted a new student center to include a food court, lounge, game room, fitness equipment and multiple-use areas. "We built all those things and more," said Gary Juhan, vice chancellor for administration at University of Virginia's College at Wise and chairman of a committee that studied the feasibility of a student center. "For many people, this student center has been a labor of love for the past eight and a half years," Juhan said during an early afternoon dedication ceremony Friday.
The C. Bascom Slemp Student Center connects the upper and lower parts of the UVa-Wise campus, Juhan said, and is located at the crossroads between the academic and residential areas of the college.
The facility is the campus living room students have long desired - a place where they can learn, lead, meet, eat, exercise, relax, participate and study.
Wise County native and self-help author Napoleon Hill said "the starting point of all achievement is desire," Juhan noted. "We had a strong desire to create a building with that "Wow!" factor and that also accomplished a goal," Juhan said.
"Today is a significant day in the life of this college," said UVa-Wise Board chairman James Gott, class of 1972.
"What a nice crowd, and what a wonderful facility," Gott told about 130 students, professors, administrators, local leaders, public officials and others gathered in the student center's atrium.
The building is located at the heart of the college campus, according to Gott. The student center will be the hub of the campus, UVa-Wise Chancellor Steven Kaplan said.
The Slemp center brings residential and commuter students together, Kaplan said, professors and students together. "This building has provided a stronger sense of community."
"Every single sector of the campus" - from maintenance workers and police officers to football players and students - helped move books, goods and materials from the old bookstore in Cantrell Hall to new bookstore space in the student center, Kaplan noted.
Kaplan thanked the C. Bascom Slemp Foundation, which donated $2.5 million to the student center project. The foundation has supported the beginning of the WISE-FM radio station on the college campus, improvements at the John Cook Wyllie Library and "the countless dreams of students through scholarships," the chancellor noted.
The $10.9 million student center was also funded through student fees.
Kaplan also thanked Sim Ewing, vice chancellor for finance and governmental relations, for getting the student center open without further delays. Ewing did a "Herculean job," Kaplan said, pushing the contractor and solving "some pretty insurmountable problems."
As a student, Gott said he and fellow students gathered in Zehmer Hall's Jefferson Lounge to talk about their classes, have philosophical discussions and play cards.
The fourth floor of the Slemp center is home to a recreation of the Jefferson Lounge, complete with a stone fireplace just like the original, according to Gott.
"Howdy y'all," Joe Carico said, receiving laughter and smiles. "It's great to be back home again. It's especially great to be around people who don't think I have an accent," he joked.
A former president of the college's Student Government Association, Carico works in Richmond as chief deputy attorney general of Virginia. He served on the student center feasibility committee.
"It's going to be a great addition to the college campus," Carico said of the student center. "It's hard to believe it happened in such short time, less than 10 years."
This wonderful facility strengthens UVa-Wise and improves the lives of students while they attend the college, Carico said. The student center is about more than just bricks and mortar, he said. "It's about providing greater opportunity for generations to come."
Since graduating in 1995, Carico has become a lawyer, been elected to the commonwealth attorney post in Wise County and is now serving Virginians in the attorney general's office. "Those events in my life wouldn't have happened if not for my experiences and opportunities here at UVa-Wise," he said during Friday's ceremony.
Kaplan said one of his contributions to the student center was getting a Starbucks coffee shop in the café portion of the fourth floor. He's trying to bring the New York Times newspaper to the bookstore's periodicals section.
OTHER COMMENTS
Some scheduled speakers - including UVa rector Gordon Rainey and UVa Board of Visitors member William Crutchfield - could not attend Friday's ceremony because fog and cloudy skies kept them from flying into Lonesome Pine Airport.
Jay Lemons, UVa-Wise chancellor from 1992 to 2001, flew into Tri-Cities Regional Airport and arrived in Wise later on Friday.
While he was unable to make the student center dedication, Lemons did attend the annual Benefactors Celebration on Friday night. On Saturday, he attended the UVa-Wise football game, toured the campus and attended the Athletic Hall of Fame program, according to Jane Meade-Dean, director of college relations.
"The campus looks fantastic," Lemons said Saturday. "It's very special to be back in Wise and it's wonderful to see the transformation of the campus so many people have worked so hard over the years to achieve."
The student center looks exactly like the work developed by the planning committee, according to Lemons, who is now president of Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania.
Lemons credited architect David Oakland from VMDO Architects - the Charlottesville firm that designed the facility - with finding a way to bridge the upper and lower campus and create an architectural landmark at UVa-Wise.
"Things are wonderful in Pennsylvania," Lemons said. Susquehanna University is preparing to launch a capital campaign and will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2008.
Copyright 2003 The Coalfield Progress. All rights reserved.
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