Dakota Wesleyan University held a dedication ceremony on Friday afternoon for its new alumni welcome center, located inside the Dakota Discovery Museum.
Dozens of alumni gathered inside the museum to attend the dedication, which included comments from DWU President Amy Novak, Vice President of Institutional Advancement Kitty Allen and Trustee Bradley Pratt.
Pratt said that the new center is part of DWU's "master plan," which also includes the university's science building, wellness complex and theater.
"You may look at this, and you may think, 'this is just offices,'" said Pratt, gesturing to the alumni center. "But it's more than that. It's a place to reminisce ... This is our space to share memories of your time at Dakota Wesleyan University."
The dedication ceremony served as the kickoff to the weekend's Blue and White Days events.
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"Holding our alumni center dedication today symbolizes the meaning we attribute to the activities we have on and off campus this week," Allen said.
Alumni Reverend Bob Ruedebusch and Kenneth Ketel led a prayer of dedication and the singing of "The Scotchman," respectively, at the event, which concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the doors of the new alumni welcome center, which Pratt said will be shared with the museum and DWU's theater.
"We are grateful to be able to welcome you to a place where we celebrate the many, many ways in which all of you have contributed to making this university," Novak said, addressing alumni. "We're really not a university without you, and you are fundamentally the story that we tell."
