University of (Tucson) Arizona Builds $25 Million McClelland Park Complex With Private Donations

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 23, 2008 -
PRIVATE DONATIONS FUND UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA’S $25 MILLION BUILDING FOR NORTON SCHOOL OF FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES

Oct. 23 dedication of ‘McClelland Park’ to underscore school’s visionary focus on transformative research and education that strengthens families, communities and the global marketplace.

TUCSON, Ariz. – When the University of Arizona dedicates McClelland Park, a $25 million, 72,000-square-foot building during homecoming, Oct. 23, the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences will have a world-class research and educational facility, school officials say, which will enable it to better prepare students for the societal and business challenges related to the global economy.

The four-story McClelland Park building at North Park Avenue and East Fourth Street was completed in record time – less than four years from inception to occupancy, thanks to the support of more than 2,000 students, alumni, parents, faculty, friends, business and industry partners, whose contributions paid for its construction. It is the only academic building on the main campus erected without a penny of tax dollars.

“We are fortunate to have a network of donors and corporate sponsors who understand that education is the cornerstone for overcoming all challenges,” says Soyeon Shim, Ph.D., director of the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences. “And, we are blessed to have a multinational faculty, research and internship programs that can provide our diverse student population with a global perspective and real-world learning opportunities.”

The Norton School is part of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and offers undergraduate, master’s and doctorate degrees in two major academic programs: Retailing and Consumer Sciences; and Family Studies and Human Development. More than 1,000 students are enrolled in classes there this semester, including 870 majors, thanks in part to the additional classroom, research, office, and lecture hall space provided by the new building.

McClelland Park is also home to:
•The Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing, which brings together academia and the retail industry, with a shared goal of developing strong future retail professionals
•The Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth and Families, which addresses the most critical social, emotional and developmental issues facing children and families today
•The Take Charge America Institute for Consumer Financial Education and Research, which strives to improve consumer financial well-being through research and outreach programs, and
•The Family Economics and Financial Education Initiative, which provides educators with financial literacy curriculum materials free of charge and conducts professional development opportunities for educators throughout the world.

“Our excellence stems from our land-grant heritage and our obligation to serve the public,” says Robert N. Shelton, UA president. “We strive to meet that obligation by grappling with society’s most urgent and complex challenges, and the Norton School represents the type of public-private partnership that will allow our institution to increase its capacity to meet the needs of our students, researchers and scholars, and the public.”

McClelland Park retail industry donors, whose contributions earned various naming rights, include Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, Kohl’s Department Stores, Saks Fifth Avenue, Walgreens, Office Depot, Macy’s, MPC Pro, and Harry & David.

Guided tours of McClelland Park will begin at 2 p.m. on Oct. 23. The building, which was designed by Smithgroup and built by Hensel Phelps Construction Co., incorporates 20 “green” features ranging from the facility’s orientation and glazing that maximizes views and minimizes environmental impacts, to photovoltaic roof panels that feed electricity back into the grid, and native landscaping.

University of Arizona president Robert N. Shelton will be among the speakers at the dedication.  The 3 p.m. ceremony will include a special tribute to Norman McClelland, UA alum and chairman of Shamrock Foods, and his late sister, Frances, whose family name graces the building. Other benefactors who will be at the dedication include: John Norton, founder and CEO of J.R. Norton Co., and Ira A. Fulton, chairman of Fulton Homes. The school’s 150-seat auditorium is named in Fulton’s honor.  

For additional information about the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arizona, please visit: http://ag.arizona.edu/fcs or call 520.621.1075.

Note to Media:   To arrange telephone, e-mail or on-site interviews with any of the school’s corporate benefactors or university officials, please contact:

Nina Bondarook
Nina Bondarook & Associates
nina@bondarook.com
650.533.3367

Kimberley A. Brooke
Assistant Director
Marketing & Program Development
Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing
kbrooke@u.arizona.edu
520.626.7952