Students, staff and alumni came together to celebrate the grand opening of the campus center. (Photo by Kristen Steach)
Students, staff and alumni came together to celebrate the grand opening of the Ronald Tutor Campus Center.
Nikias talks about the memories that will be created at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center during the dedication ceremony.
President C.L. Max Nikias presided over the commemoration along with Michael L. Jackson, vice president for student affairs and enrollment services.
“We are celebrating the reality of a long awaited dream,” President Nikias said.
“A campus center that is the heartbeat of our campus, a truly magnificent building that is the center gathering place for our entire Trojan family.”
Ronald N. Tutor, a USC graduate and member of the Board of Trustees, said the dedication of this center to him has been “an extraordinary ride” that started when he first came to USC.
“Since I was a kid and came to the coliseum and watched a football game between USC and UCLA, I fell in love with USC and decided no matter what it took, I had to go to USC and have that experience.”
“It was a wonderful one that continued after I graduated.”
The campus center’s website mentions that “much as the Italian plaza is a community’s central gathering place, the USC Campus Center’s International Plaza will be the university’s central gathering place for current and prospective students, faculty, staff, family members, and nearly 200,000 alumni.”
President Nikias noted that the building is composed of 234,000 pieces of brick that if stretched out, would go for 30 miles. The weight of the marble and brick of the building is 4 million pounds.
The campus center is the largest building on the University Park Campus and is the first USC structure to be certified as a green building.
The center will be home to various services, such as food and drink, KXSC radio, program board, and student organization offices.
The food venues include Panda Express, California Pizza Kitchen, Wahoo’s Fish Taco, Carl’s Jr., and The Coffee Bean, as well as a couple new restaurants, MortonFigueroa and Lemonade.
The Trojan Band performed throughout the ceremony and afterwards, those in attendance could receive free gifts and food samples from the several venues of the center.
