Lane
While rooms in the Memorial Union are being renamed to those people willing to pay, the right to rename the MU could also be up for grabs if someone pays around $10 million, said Michael Lane, Emporia State president.
“If somebody came forward with a big enough gift we’d consider it,” said Michael Lane, president of Emporia State. “That doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t put a name on (the union) if someone gave us $10 million. But I’m not worried about that.”
Currently, there are no prospects at that level.
Lane was adamant about the fact that name of the MU would always contain the word “Memorial.”
“We’d never take the ‘Memorial’ out of it, ever,” he said. “That union is dedicated to the men and women that have served this country and it will always be a memorial union, at least as long as I’m sitting in this office.”
Naming rights for other parts of the MU are still up for grabs with a goal of raising $2.5 million.
Judith Heasley, executive director of the ESU Foundation, said that they’ve already received $100,000 by the first part of August and are looking at an additional $150,000 by Oct.1, bringing the total amount raised to $250,000.
“The economy has really slowed us there,” Lane said. “We’ve had to delay three or four asks of a half million dollars because of where the economy is and people not being willing to part with large sums of money at the moment.”
The space that is available for the largest amount of money is the Office of International Education, with a price tag of $1 million.
Smaller spaces are available including storage closets, offices and workrooms ranging between $5,000 and $15,000.
“We’ve got people thinking about it,” Heasley said. “We secured two last week for naming opportunities.”
Donations will be accepted from anyone who is willing to put up the money including students, Recognized Student Organizations and faculty.
“We are soliciting corporations, foundations and individuals,” Heasley said. “If a student organization wants to have their name on one of the offices or something like that, we would name a room after a student organization. They could leave a legacy.”
Pledges will be accepted for those who cannot afford to pay the amount in full.
“If someone wants to make a pledge in the union, they have three years to pay,” Heasley said. “They don’t have to pay it up front.”
The Foundation will have three years to raise the remaining amount of money. Their deadline is between March and September of 2012.
Some are not excited about the prospect of having a new name on the front of the MU.
“I think (renaming the union) would be a shame, but if that’s the only way we can help serve students better, then I guess it’s okay,” said Roger Heineken, administrative officer for the MU. “Serving our current students is an important thing that we do, so if this will help us get to that point…but I’d like a corporation to step up some time and not paint its name on our ceiling, because it’s a good thing to do, not because it’s an advertising expenditure.”
Heineken was concerned about what would happen if a corporation got the naming rights to the MU.
“Students and faculty went and solicited the money to build this out of people’s pockets, not corporations,” he said. “They believed in honoring those people who gave their lives serving this country and they were our students. In my opinion, it’s like putting Alltel on Arlington National Cemetery. Do you want to see that sign on Arlington National Cemetery? Well, I don’t want to see it here.”
Ashley Peaches/The Bulletin
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