Glenn Connelly / Photo EditorThe San Diego State Alumni Association is coming back to campus with the construction of the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.
Currently there are no buildings dedicated to the Alumni Association, making the Alumni Center its only territory on campus. The Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center is named after Jack Goodall, Leon Parma and Robert Payne, three alumni who contributed $2.7 million for the $11 million project.
“It’s critically important to have an alumni center on campus as a drawing card to get people re-energized about the school,” Goodall, former president and chief executive officer of Jack in the Box, said in an interview with 360 Magazine in April. “What we’re trying to do is develop something here on campus that will get more people interested in the school and get them back to the school.”
The facility, located on the west side of 55th Street at Hardy Avenue, is designed to welcome SDSU alumni and was built for the enjoyment of the entire campus, according to Executive Director for the Alumni Association Jim Herrick.
“We are really proud of this new facility and we think it will serve the alumni community in a way that will be extremely helpful to San Diego State University,” Herrick said.
According to Herrick, the Alumni Association is hoping to get the certificate of occupancy in two weeks, and move into the Alumni Center in late September. There will be a dedication ceremony Oct. 17 to mark the official grand opening of the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center at 11 a.m. The event is open to the public.
According to the Alumni Association Web site, www.sdsualumni.org, the main entrance of the Alumni Center features a “spectacular rotunda” and a “beautiful lobby with reception area.” Some features of the facility include a ballroom, which can be divided into three separate sections for approximately 260 people, a multi-purpose outdoor pavilion overlooking the athletic fields and Tony Gwynn Stadium, a boardroom for audio / visual presentations, as well as the Allan Bailey Library, which is designed for the alumni community to relax and enjoy archives of SDSU and Aztec memorabilia.
The 30,000-square-foot building is comprised of two levels. The first story is meant for interaction among all alumni, while the second story houses offices for both the Alumni Association and the Campanile Foundation.
