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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1987)
Monday, September 7, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local ion i took all youreit: i i tment, didn’tYK; ' it to talk aboutii, u nmr, tnuvmut iic.inl to provide; liberal arts. Liber; M have been insi >\s n no respect. H ^<m will the Cole; i ion vinous with'e le New Way. Wee ered. leering roomraaie mates of old j). Sit in yourefe We havegaM ore curriculums n e to stay. Workers outlast weather, material barriers A&M opens new alumni center doors layton W. Williams Jr., Class of ’54, addresses e crowd at the grand opening of the Clayton W. Photo by Sarah Cowa Williams Jr. Alumni Center. Williams donated $2.5 million toward building the new center. By Elisa Hutchins Staff Writer Texas A&M students and for mer students received a late Christmas present Saturday as Clayton W. Williams Jr. formally opened the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center by cutting the ribbons in Corps style, with a saber. Planning for the $7 million center, located at the corner of Jersey and Houston streets, be gan in 1979 and its construction was supposed to be finished by the beginning of this year, said Jim Jeter, associate executive di rector of the Association of For mer Students. The center cost $2 million more than the association origi nally planned, he said. “W T e had some problems get ting materials and the weather also played a big factor in the de lay, out we had no major prob lems,” he said. Ernest T. Pitzer, Class of ’50 and former 1986 association president, did a lot of initial plan ning, but died before the building was completed. About 1,500 present and for mer students as well as commu nity members and guests of Wil liams’ and Pitzer’s families attended the ceremony of the long-awaited building. Randy Matson, executive di rector of the former students’ as sociation, said, “After more than 100 years, the Association of For mer Students now has a perma nent home.” The association offices were lo cated in the System Administra tion Building in the mid 1950s and, for the last 14 years, at the MSC. Matson, Class of ’67, Williams, Class of ’54, President Frank E. Vandiver, David Eller, chairman of the A&M Board of Regents, and association president W. Mike Baggett, Class of ’68, spoke at the dedication ceremony. Williams, a Midland oilman and owner of Claydesta Commu nications, contributed $2.5 mil lion for the center. Baggett said, “He (Williams) followed through on his promise early, even with the difficult times in Texas. If it was not for him, it would have been harder to get things done.” Vandiver said Williams has done more than his share for the University by donating money and teaching a management class on entrepreneurship. Thousands of former students donated money and materials for the center and Jeter said the building is, for the most part, paid for. “There are several conference rooms that community members can rent,” he said. “We have al ready catered two wedding recep tions. But former students have really come through on this pro ject.” He said it is the largest and most tastefully decorated build ing of its kind. There is a 6,000- square-foot reception area called the Great Hall. It has two large curving mahogany and brass staircases and a 1,200-square-foot board room for association exec^ utive members. The Glitsch Library and Aggie ring collection have been moved to the center. The Aggie ring of fice, which used to be on the first floor of the Pavilion, has also been moved to the new center. Williams said having the build ing named after him is the high est honor he could receive. “It culminates everything that is Texas A&M,” he said of the center. “It represents athletics, educaton and the pride of being a former student. m gra asked bers asked me to donate the money. I’ve done a lot of things for A&M, but every gift I’ve given has given me so much more in re turn.” New lab to aid A&M in studying biotechnology By Mary-Lynne Rice Staff Writer Granada Genetics, the first pri vate sector tenant of Texas A&M’s research park, opened its new of fices and laboratories Friday. Granada Genetics is a subsidiary of Granada Corp., a Houston based operation owned and directed by A&M Board of Regents Chairman David Eller. The firm — whose research also serves three others of Granada Corp.’s other biotechnology labs — will conduct biotechnology research in conjunction with A&M. Granada Genetics had previously established its administrative offices in the ANCO insurance building in Bryan. Friday evening it moved to its new location at One Research Park on Discovery Drive, west of the vet erinary school, to continue its work with A&M, said Dr. Mark Money, A&M’s vice chancellor for research park and corporate relations. Dr. Joseph Massey, president of Granada Genetics, cited A&M’s well- known research in agriculture and biotechnology as its reason for choosing to move into the research park complex. Money said that A&M’s reputa tion will help to attract top-notch sci entists, and that the park nas an con venient location close to the main campus research facilities. Granada Genetics’ current pro jects deal with state-of-the-art ge netic manipulation in the field of nu trition, Money said. “They’re developing applications for biotechnology in the agricultural field,” he said. Massey said current research deals with animal embryo transfer, shrimp mariculture and work with hormone development and recombi nant DNA. Money said Granada’s move to the research park will help broaden the job market in Bryan-College Station for students and graduates and it also will provide consulting opportu nities for the faculty. yyyyyy yyyyyy yyyyyyy Aggie Friends Youth Fun Day 55 Aggie men 1 iervice of their War I. -SL1 students i Aggie — and^ f ar as the Aggiff e. Please, Goad 1 te LSU back. Tin ontest, butnoto is guests act as LSU fans do. n is to write letP etic: directoranii 1 ouisiana State iced to be madb hliorrentcondc 1- t teams set a got- yed a hard-foujb skit mishes orfe” ey shook hands*! i other on a well' is were an their school, its udent body, aw siana. tan be proud.S t they did itwitl'| lot of character * a junior jou# ; writer for The Breath ANP m The F00LI6H oep mo ' sr cei/MY. Y 1; Hands Across A&M Bonfire Cookie Crew Association ’87 - ’88 P Holiday Services Food For Thought Ice Cream Extravaganza Tues. Sept. 8th 6:30 p.m. Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y