The official grand opening of the Edson and Margaret Larson Alumni and Leadership Center at Mayville State University is planned for Friday, June 20. Festivities will begin at 11:00 a.m., with a short program beginning at 11:30 a.m. The Mayville State University 125th Anniversary Alumni Days kickoff celebration and picnic will follow at 12:00 noon. The First and Farmers Bank of Mayville and Portland is sponsoring the picnic, which will be held under a tent located on the north side of the Larson Center. Everyone is invited to participate.
The Edson and Margaret Larson Alumni and Leadership Center, formerly known as Northwest Hall, was built in 1911 as an infirmary for sick students. The building has served a number of purposes over the years, including the college president’s home, dormitory space, student medical offices, and married student housing. Now the brick structure has been completely renovated into a shining new home for Mayville State University alumni, and a place where alumni can meet and “come home.”
Led by 1974 Mayville State University graduate Doug Anderson of Cavalier, N.D., the fundraising campaign for the project began in 2002 Anderson visited extensively with prospective donors over the years, raising funds for the project, primarily through the sponsorship of various rooms of the building by Mayville-Portland area individuals, families, and businesses and Mayville State alumni. A $340,000 gift from the Edson and Margaret Larson Foundation late in 2012 made it possible for the majority of the renovation efforts to move forward to completion.
The offices of the MSU Foundation were opened in the Larson Center in March of 2014. Areas of the building continue to be furnished and fine-tuned, but for the most part, the building is ready for guests and those who will call it “home.”
“We’re very excited that our goal of an alumni center at Mayville State University has been achieved,” said volunteer project coordinator Doug Anderson. “The building will proudly hold Mayville State and community memorabilia, be host to special events and cultural activities, display Mayville State’s art and periodical collections, provide a place to meet and greet, and be home to a lot of Comet pride. The building will be filled with names of people who care about Mayville State University, and it is so fitting that the building is named after longtime Mayville residents, Edson and Margaret Larson.”
The grand opening of the Edson and Margaret Larson Alumni and Leadership Center will headline Mayville State University’s 125th Anniversary Alumni Days festivities planned for June 20 and 21. See a full schedule of activities at www.mayvillestate.edu/alumnidays. Direct any questions to alumni.mail@mayvillestate.edu or 701-788-4750.
Anyone wishing to make a gift to the Edson and Margaret Larson Alumni and Leadership Center project may contact John Klocke at 701-788-4787 or john.j.klocke@mayvillestate.edu. Donors wishing to take advantage of the North Dakota endowment tax credit of 40% can also contribute gifts to an endowment fund that will provide for maintenance, hospitality, and future scholarships.