The Polytechnic campus held an opening ceremony Thursday for the three new buildings that opened at the beginning of the fall semester, doubling classroom and lab space on the campus.
“Before, we thought of this campus as a branch of ASU, the community didn’t realize what a good thing we had going on out here at Polytechnic,” Mesa mayor Scott Smith said. “However, buildings are not what educate people, they’re symbols of the maturity and importance of the Polytechnic campus. People can now look at the fiscal presence, can see this is something special, something new.”
President Michael Crow spoke of the spirit of innovation and creativity the Polytechnic campus fosters and introduced four newly hired deans for various colleges on the campus.
Four Arizona state representatives, two state senators and two members of the Arizona Board of Regents also attended the ceremony.
“Having the politicians and Board of Regents members here shows support for this campus, it helps us get the attention we need,” said John Burgmeier, an undecided sophomore. “The next major projects we need are a new student union and more residential housing.”
Associated student body president, Kelley Stewart, a postsecondary education graduate student, spoke at the ceremony, representing the student body. She explained unlike the Field of Dreams quote, “If you build it, they will come,” the Polytechnic campus’ mantra is “if you come, we’ll build it.”
Reach the reporter at afleisha@asu.edu.
