Groundbreaking ceremony will celebrate newest addition to Saint Martin’s campus

University to break ground on Harned Hall

Feb. 1, 2008

Lacey, Washington — Saint Martin’s University invites the community to celebrate the groundbreaking of its new academic building, H.C. “Joe” Harned Hall, on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 11 a.m. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place on the future site of the building, near the Cebula Hall (Engineering) parking lot on Saint Martin’s main campus, 5300 Pacific Avenue, Lacey, Washington, 98503.

The guest of honor will be H.C. “Joe” Harned, for whom the building is being named. Harned, a friend of the University, recently made a significant gift in support of the school’s $5.5 million A Winning Spirit campaign. Also in attendance will be his nephew, Max Harned, in whose honor the gift was made. Max Harned graduated from the institution, then known as Saint Martin’s College, in 1969.

The construction of Harned Hall is an important part of the University’s plan to improve campus life and expand facilities for Saint Martin’s students. The building will serve as an academic hub on the main campus, providing students, staff and faculty with versatile classroom space, computer and engineering labs, a student lounge and a café.

Those attending the groundbreaking will notice the progress of the Ken F. and Gale L. Parsons, Sr. Residence Hall, the University’s newest building on Baran Drive. When the 67,000 square-foot hall opens for the 2008-09 academic year, it will feature accommodations for 262 students, a community lounge and kitchen, a fitness room, an espresso café and a computer lab. Parsons Hall is slated for completion this summer.

Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, Catholic, coeducational university located on a 320-acre wooded campus in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 18 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 21 majors and six graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes 1,250 students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its main campus, and 650 more to its five extension campuses located at Fort Lewis Army Post, McChord Air Force Base, Olympic College, Centralia College and Tacoma Community College.

For additional information:

Carrie Edwards
Saint Martin’s University
(360) 438-4576
cedwards@stmartin.edu

Jennifer Fellinger
Saint Martin’s University
(360) 438-4332
jfellinger@stmartin.edu