BROOKINGS – South Dakota State University hosted the Alumni Green dedication under partly cloudy and rainy skies Friday evening to showcase the new Alumni Center and president’s house. Tours of Alumni Center started at 4 p.m., with hundreds walking through the building to look at the collage of pictures in the lobby, the wooden jungle boards with names carved in them, the Legends and Leaders information monitor, and the fireplace display in the Jensen-Smith board room. The dedication ceremony and the Pride of the Dakotas marching band followed, and a tour of the president’s home and a performance by the SDSU Concert Choir wrapped up the event.

The event included a full line-up of speakers and music.

Steve Erpenbach, president and CEO of the SDSU Foundation, thinks both places will play a huge roll in the university’s future.

“This will be the place where people will come back and spend a lot of time,” he said standing in front of Alumni Center’s wall of windows. “The view of the Campanile, photos and other historical items that are on display, this will be a place where scholarship banquets and other university events will be held, so we want this to feel like home, where people come back.”

He felt the windows will draw people with the view of the clock tower to the north, and the president’s house on the other side, and a scenic view of the campus.

“The president’s house will be important for fundraisers, and building relationships that build SDSU,” Erpenbach said.