Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

ISU Breaks Ground on New Alumni Center

  • By Matt Jones
  • 07/15/21

Officials gathered last week on the campus of Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, to break ground on a new alumni center. Representatives of the university and the Idaho Central Credit Union (ICCU), a donor for the project, met on July 8 to mark the first step of construction of the ICCU Bengal Alumni Center. The building will be the first addition to the campus in 20 years.

ISU President Kevin Satterlee spoke before the ceremony about the need for an on-campus gathering space for students and alumni alike. “This center means more than all of those parts and those pieces when they come together, because this center means we are again demonstrating to our community that we are investing in the future of this university,” he said.

The new facility measures in at 26,281 square feet, and it has been in the planning stages for more than 20 years. The project has remained in limbo for so long because of its price tag: $11.5 million. Alumni and donors worked for years to raise the private funds. In 2017, late alumnus Jack R. Wheatley jump-started the project with a $2 million contribution. Officials have raised another $6 million since then, including $1.5 million from the Idaho Central Credit Union.

The facility will also serve as an events center, contain meeting and board rooms, and feature displays honoring alumni. Construction is scheduled for completion by spring 2023.

“Today, this event marks the first official groundbreaking ceremony for a new building on this campus in more than a decade,” said Satterlee. “This Idaho State University alumni center will serve as the new hub on this campus where we will greet Bengali on their return home, provide a meeting place for our alumni and host our community to bring them to events and events on our campus. It will serve as the home for many key operations and will be a welcome new place for all new Bengali to join our family. That means this facility for the future of Idaho State University.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.

  • concentric silhouettes of a human head

    How Physical Space Shapes the Mind: Designing for Better Learning Outcomes

    Research in environmental psychology and neuroscience increasingly suggests that the way a room is designed can influence memory, focus, or even a student's sense of belonging.

  • UT System Board of Regents Approves $108M Housing Complex

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently announced the approval of a new, $108-million housing complex at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), according to a news release. The facility will stand four stories and have a total of 456 new beds for freshmen students.

Digital Edition