After two years of wondering and waiting, the Office of Institutional Advancement, cut the ribbon on a newly renovated facility formerly known as the “Alumni House” Friday, April 14, Director of Development Audrey Parks explains.
“The ribbon-cutting ceremony is in celebration of the newly renovated Institutional Advancement/Alumni Relations building,” she said. “So, we are celebrating going back home after being displaced for two years.”
Members of the ASU Foundation Board, the university board of trustees, and the community “Swarmed the House” to join the university in this celebration.
Parks pointed out that the ribbon cutting was also a testament to the leadership and vision of Col. (ret.) Gregory L. Clark, vice president of Institutional Advancement.
“One Team. One Mission. One Alabama State University,” Clark said during his remarks. “This is your house. I thank everybody who had a hand in this … We needed a place to raise money, and we have it now. So, we wanted to have a celebration today to honor that commitment to renovate our house.”
Clark, who oversees the areas of alumni affairs, radio station, marketing and communications, development and the university foundation explained why this facility is so important.
“Our facility needs to represent what we are doing, and what we are about. The sign kind of represents where we are going and the professionalism of this organization, which is also necessary as we are the fundraising arm of the university,” he said. “I am glad that we got it done. It was one of the first things that I wanted to be done. I had to get my people in a facility that would make them as well as our donors feel comfortable.”
Clark said that money was used from the Home Depot grant that the university received in 2021 as well as other university funding. He also said that the board room within the new facility would be named after the Golden Classes of Alabama State University
“These men and women are kind of like our special forces at Alabama State,” he said. “You can call on them (at any time) and they will be there …To honor these Golden Classes, we have dedicated the boardroom in this building to the Golden Classes of Alabama State University.”