The proposed facility on the site will house organizations such as the UW Foundation, the Alumni Association, Career Services and Admissions. The proposed building will also house an exhibition area with museum-quality exhibits, a meeting space for 300-400 occupants and a new chamber for Associated Students of the University of Wyoming senate meetings. There will also be dedications to the university’s distinguished alumni, significant philanthropic supporters and UW’s leaders.
Funding for the proposed facility will come from a combined structure of UW Foundation funding, fundraising and UW Foundation revenue bonds.
The university-owned site presently houses the ranger station office facility, a garage, a small greenhouse and a storage facility. The property was deeded to UW in 2005 and is the current office space for a portion of the UW Foundation’s staff.
According to Alumni Association Executive Director Keener Fry, the facility is slated to be finished by fall 2014 or spring 2015. Architects will begin drafting plans by late February.
“We believe this is a great opportunity to enhance our identity, visibility, alumni and friends,” Fry said.
Fry also said the facility will capitalize on collaborative opportunities between UW organizations that often have overlapping goals and will be more efficient when they are physically closer together.
University of Wyoming Foundation President Ben Blalock said the Gateway Center is a project that the UW Foundation has worked on for several years, after traveling to other schools and seeing other facilities.
“Anytime you are in the industry and the world of private support, there is a lot of pride taken in the school,” Blalock said. “It [the Gateway Center] will strengthen the professional image of UW and the stories of what the university is really about.”
Blalock said prospective students currently begin their time at UW at Admissions in Knight Hall, which is an old dormitory. Career Services, also in the old dormitory, brings in potential employers
Blalock described the new gateway as, “A world-class front door.” He said it will make the statement that the University of Wyoming is a very special university.
