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Arkansas Tech Names Multi-Purpose Building in Honor of Retiring President, Wife

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A $14.7 million multi-purpose building coming to the Arkansas Tech University campus in Russellville sometime in 2016 will bear the name of the outgoing president and his wife.

The university’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted, during a special meeting Saturday, to name the facility in honor of retiring President Robert C. Brown and his wife, Jill.

The four-story, 66,900-SF building will house admissions, student accounts, registrar, human resources, payroll and student support services, among other services. Classrooms and conference rooms will be located on each floor. Preliminary drawings showed seven classrooms and four conference/seminar rooms.

Construction started this month and is expected to wrap in December 2015, the university says. The Board of Trustees awarded an $11.6 million construction contract to CDI Contractors in March.

The building will be located on land previously occupied by Bryan Hall, and near the university’s college of business, Rothwell Hall.

“These two buildings will serve as a new front door to the campus,” Sam Strasner, director of university relations, told Arkansas Business in March. “This will be a landmark structure.”

Brown announced in August he would retire at the end of the current academic year. He took office July 1, 1993, and is the second-longest serving president in the university’s 105-year history. 

Upon his retirement, Brown will hold the titles of president emeritus and distinguished professor.

Robin E. Bowen was unanimously elected as Brown’s successor in April, and will become the first woman president of a public, four-year university in Arkansas when she takes office July 1.

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