Officials gathered on the campus of K-State Salina Thursday afternoon to celebrate the opening of a new facility that Dean Verna Fitzsimmons called “a key building to every student on campus”. A purple ribbon was cut to celebrate the completion of the new student welcome center.

The center is housed inside a building that was built by the Air Force back in 1955, at what was then the Schilling Airforce Base. For years it served as an administration building. After the base closed the facility remained an adminstration building for K-State Salina’s predecessor, the Kansas Technology Institute school.

Following a total renovation, the building has now been transformed into a state of the art student welcome center. Fitzsimmons said that while a complete renovatio was needed to modernize the facility, they still wanted to pay homage to its history. To that end, part of the roof resembles an airplane wing.

Associate Dean of Student Life Dixie Schierlman said that the new welcome center provides key services for all students, both new and returning. It is a key building because it provides the first impression visitors to the KSU Salina campus receive.

Along with staying true to its roots, the new student welcome center is also environmentally friendly. In an effort to be as “green” as possible it was constructed with higher quality environmentally friendly insulation, LED lighting, and an energy efficient heating and cooling system,

To pay homage to its history, part of the roof of the building resembles an airplane wing.