Lockheed Martin, Sun Microsystems to be Honored at Academic Village Opening on Oct. 5

Colorado State University will honor Sun Microsystems Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corp. on Friday, Oct. 5, as part of an event celebrating the grand opening of the Academic Village.

Executives with the companies and members of the campus community will be on hand to officially mark the opening of the Academic Village, the newest residential community on campus, on Oct. 5 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at 800 W. Pitkin St.

Remarks for the grand opening celebration will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the courtyard between the Honors and Engineering buildings in front of the Dining commons. Speakers include Jim Dolak, executive director of Housing and Dining Services; Eric Frank, president of the Residence Hall Association; Sandra Woods, dean of the College of Engineering; and Bob Keller, director of the University Honors Program.

Tours of the Honors Living Learning Community and the Engineering Living Learning Community will follow the official ribbon-cutting ceremony. Refreshments will be served in the Fireside Lounge in the Honors building as well as the Engineering building lobby.

The new Academic Village is the first project of its kind on the CSU campus to integrate the academic experience in a living environment. The village houses about 420 students – 260 students in the Engineering building and 160 students in the Honors program. The rooms have private baths. All but a few spots are reserved for incoming, first-year students.

Sun Microsystems Inc. donated Sun Thin Client computers and servers to the Engineering Academic Village, allowing for a workstation for each student in the building, and provided equipment to enhance the computing environment in the electronic classroom. Sun has supported the College of Engineering with more than $1 million in gifts in-kind in the last 10 years.

Lockheed Martin has maintained a long standing history of funding the College of Engineering and student design studios. In the past 10 years, Lockheed Martin has donated more than $500,000 to support such initiatives as the Engineering Academic Village and most recently provided an additional $20,000 to the project.

The ribbon-cutting occasion on Friday also coincides with the Honors program celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In 1957, Professors Willard O. Eddy and Bruce Frye created an interdisciplinary seminar on Leo Tolstoy and invited 15 of the university’s best and brightest students to enroll. In 1975, the University Honors Program was more clearly defined, and in 1977, the first student graduated "With University Honors." Currently, there are more than 1,000 students in the University Honors Program.

The Honors 50th Anniversary Lecture by Professor Bernie Rollin, one of the world’s foremost animal ethicists, will follow the Academic Village grand opening at 7 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theatre. A dessert reception in the Art Lounge will follow the lecture.

On Saturday, Oct. 6, Engineering and Honors will host public open houses at the Academic Village from 11 a.m. -1 p.m.

Construction is still under way on The Commons dining building in the village, which will open in the village in 2008 and will include a Mongolian Grill, Sizzling Salads, Tex Mex, Pizza, Sub, Wraps & Deli, Carving Station, Express, Espresso Bar and Sports Grill. The Commons will feature outdoor seating, space for 200 in the Sports Grill and seating for 500 in the Marketplace.

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