K-State at Salina opens new student life center

It took a total of four tries to sink the first basket on the floor of the new gym Thursday evening at the official ribbon cutting ceremony of the K-State-Salina campus Student Life Center. The basket was made by President Kirk Schulz with the help of Dennis Kuhlman, dean of the College of Technology and Aviation.

The ceremony, which officially opened the new recreation center, included speeches from President Schulz; Roger White, senior vice president for marketing and sales at Cessna Aircraft in Wichita; and K-State-Salina campus Student Body President Brian Koester. The master of ceremonies for the evening's events was Mark Friesen, director of development at the College of Technology and Aviation.

The ribbon cutting ceremony and the reception attracted notable people from around the Salina, Manhattan and Wichita areas, including Salina Mayor Lucy Larson.

"This project has been in the works for a long time, and its exciting to see it all finally come together with everyone from the Wichita, Salina and Manhattan," Friesen said. "The project has cost a total of $5.5 million, but the construction could not take place without generous donations from the community and from Cessna Aircraft."

Friesen said the construction of the new center started in January 2008 and it took 20 months to complete. However, the center is designed for the consideration of future expansion and construction.

"We were actually hoping to complete the construction in June, however due to some weather related issues, we had to delay construction a little bit," Friesen said.

Friesen said the original center and the new one were not comparable; the new recreation center will have better equipment and facilities. The old building will now be used for an unmanned aerial systems lab because of the space the gym provides.

"The old recreation center was in poor shape, it was located three miles down the road from campus," Koester said. "It was always leaking and the heater never worked. It was time for a new building. That is why on Oct. 18 of 2005, the SGA passed a referendum to build the new student recreation and life center."

Koester said the referendum passed with a two-thirds majority.

"We really hope that a lot more students will use this facility and that it becomes a gathering place or a hangout spot for students to use in their free time," Koester said. "Now that the center is located on campus, it is a lot more accessible to students."

Koester said the new building will be the focal point of various new activities. Besides exercise equipment, a gym and a running track, the center will play host to club meetings for free enterprise club, women in aviation and the programming board. The center will also show movies on the wall of the gymnasium.

The 33,000 square-foot facility has a variety of work out areas, including a basketball court, racquetball and handball courts, a cardiovascular area, free weights, aerobic and fitness areas, a running track, lounge area and a computer station.

White said the Cessna Aircraft was the biggest corporate donor to the construction of the new center. He said the commitment was made five years ago when plans for the new center were first being discussed.

"It was certainly the right thing to do and I think it will make a vast improvement to the K-State at Salina campus because it is so modern and attractive," White said. "Hopefully it will attract more students to come here. Our donation was a good way to say thank you to the college. We have recruited several students to come and work at our company over the past several years."

White said Cessna's relationship with the College of Technology and Aviation has spanned 22 years.

"We are proud of the relationship we have with K-State and we hope to carry and continue that relationship into the future," White said.

President Schulz said the new recreation center is the beginning of what K-State at Salina will look like in the future.

"It is amazing to see how large the donor base is for K-State at Salina, it is clear to see there is a large amount of support for the K-State family just by walking around this new facility and looking at the names on all the donor plaques," Schulz said. "However this is clearly Dennis Kuhlman's drive and his outlook and this could not have happened without him. We are definitely excited about the new facilities and what it means for the college."