Dedication opens Alumni Center
The Maneater, Tuesday, April 14, 1992
By Andrew Blasko

More than 500 MU alumni, faculty, staff and students gathered Friday at the 
Donald W. Reynolds Alumni and Visitor Center to pay tribute to the benefactor 
and dedicate the newest building on campus.

“What a proud day for MU,” said MU interim chancellor and provost Gerald 
Brouder.

When alumnus Donald W. Reynolds made his $9 million pledge in February 1988, he 
hoped the contribution would be seen as a challenge to other alumni to also give 
money, Brouder said.  “Now, $120 million later,” Brouder said, “I can report to 
you, Mr. Reynolds, that your challenge is being met.”

Brouder said since Reynold’s contribution, the university has directly received 
$40 million from alumni, plus $25 million for student scholarships and 
fellowships and $13 million for endowments to recruit and maintain faculty.

Brouder said the building would be a monument to alumni, their achievements and 
Reynolds’ philosophy of giving back to the university.

“Make no mistake about it,” Brouder said.  “MU is a far better university 
because of the support it receives from alumni and friends.”  He turned to 
Reynolds and added: “Sire, we cannot say ‘thank you’ enough.”

John Lichtenegger, president of UM Board of Curators, said the high standard of 
MU faculty Reynolds had in the 1920s is still present today.

“Our faculty and staff are proving it every day, “ Lichtenegger said.  “The 
programs and activities that will take place here will bear the strong imprint 
of Mr. Reynolds’ concern for quality and the future of this campus.”

George Russel, president of the UM system, said the building is significant 
because it unites public and private interests along with MU’s history.

“It unites us in a sense of enormous pride for this campus and its unique role 
in the history and certainly the future of MU,” Russell said.  After the 
ceremony Russell told reporters that Reynolds “truly loves the University of 
Missouri.”

The building is located at 704 Conley Avenue and is 71,000 square feet.  It was 
designed by Kansas City architect Todd Nelson.  The interior is decorated with 
cherry wood and Italian marble floors, said students host Bart Coleman of the 
Student Foundation, an alumni group.

The rooms are named after friends and associates of Reynolds, said Richard P. 
Moore, president of the MU Alumni association.

Displayed on the second floor is a bronze bust of Reynolds by William Berehends, 
a South Carolina sculptor.  In the Donrey Media Room hangs a pastel portrait of 
Reynolds by Virginia artist Jack Pardue.

Pardue said the painting, which took about a week to complete, will not fade, 
crack or yellow for a long time.

“It’ll be just like this when you and I are gone,” Pardue said.

But all this grandeur did not come easily, according to Eleanor R. Frasier, 
chair of the Reynolds Center Building Committee.  She said when the committee 
met in June 1988, they established a goal to build a facility that was 
“aesthetically pleasing and within the budget.”

Since then, Frasier said that there have been numerous daylong meetings haggling 
over the fine points of the buildings.

“We spent endless hours debating features of the building, colors, square 
footage, and deadlines,” Frasier said.

Nevertheless, the building was appreciated.

“I think it’s the most outstanding things that has happened in the last 30 years 
here,” William Stringer, a member of the MU alumni association said.

“Having been a part of this campus for about 20 years now, it’s quite a change, 
and I’m real proud of it,” said Rep. Ken Jacob, (D-Columbia).

Donald W. Reynolds graduated from the MU School of Journalism in 1927 and went 
on to found the Donrey Media Group, one of America’s largest media enterprises.  
At MU, Reynolds was involved in the Savitar yearbook and was crowned King of 
Campus.  In 1981, the journalism school awarded him the Medal for Distinguished 
Service in Journalism.