04/01/93
CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (650) 723-2558
STANFORD -- Community members, university employees, students and alumni are invited to attend the official opening of the new Haas Center for Public Service from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 23, on the Stanford University campus.
The afternoon's festivities will begin with tours of the new 14,000-square-foot, three-story building, which is located across from Owen House, the Haas Center's old home, on Salvatierra Walkway, next to the Institute for Research on Women and Gender.
The dedication ceremony will get under way at 5 p.m. and will feature remarks by Stanford University President Gerhard Casper; John Freidenrich, chairman of the University Board of Trustees; and John Gardner, Miriam and Peter Haas Centennial Professor of Public Service.
Community members, Stanford students and alumni who have been involved with the center's many programs also will speak.
The Haas Center for Public Service, a division of the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs, was established in 1984 as the focal point for local, national and international volunteer efforts on the Stanford campus.
It houses both student organizations and university projects, including the Stanford Volunteer Network, Stanford in Government and the Ravenswood-Stanford Tutoring Program. Haas Center programs place more than 2,000 students annually in community service projects.
The expansion of the Haas Center reflects the growth of interest in public service at Stanford and across the nation. The center began in one room of Owen House and rapidly grew to occupy every closet, nook and hallway.
The cramped conditions of the center's old home not only made it difficult to get things done efficiently, but forced the center to turn away many student organizations looking for a base of operations. Owen House also lacks wheelchair accessibility and a conference room.
The new building will quadruple available office space and create a highly accessible center that brings most of Stanford's service organizations together under one roof.
The additional space has made it possible for the Haas Center to welcome more than 15 new groups to its family, including Volunteers in Asia, which is now housed in the Old Union Clubhouse. The new building also contains several conference rooms, a student lounge and a courtyard.
Funding for the $3.3 million building was provided by the generosity of numerous donors, including the Haas family of San Francisco, after whom the center is named. The sale of interior steps and courtyard bricks engraved with messages from individual donors also helped to cover expenses.
The opening of the new building is part of a two-day celebration of service at Stanford. It will be followed by the 10th annual You Can Make a Difference Conference, "University and Community: Bridging the Gap Between Town and Gown," on Saturday, April 24.
Featured speakers at the day--long conference will include Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and East Palo Alto Mayor Sharifa Wilson. The conference is open to the public. For more information, call (415) 725-2872.
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