UW-Rock to name building after a 'fairy godmother'
(Published Friday, January 26, 2007 11:33:09 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Stacy Vogel and Frank Schultz/Gazette Staff
UW-Rock County's new building hasn't yet been born, but it already has a name.
The Rock County Board voted unanimously to christen the major structure of the school's expansion project "Allen Hall" in honor of Marion Allen, a Milton philanthropist and education advocate.
UW-Rock Dean Diane Pillard suggested naming the building, which will house the library, a lecture hall, distance education classrooms and a conference room, after Allen in recognition of her generosity toward education and the community in general, she said.
The 98-year-old helped develop the "Silent Angel Fund" at UW-Rock to provide emergency money for students in need and was a "significant donor" toward construction of the new library, Pillard wrote in a letter to the county board.
Allen has also tutored students, taught Sunday school, housed college students and provided scholarships to students at Milton High School and UW-Rock. She has served the American Red Cross, Milton Public Library, Milton Historical Society, Rock County Humane Society, Rotary Gardens, Boy Scouts of America and other charitable groups.
But she might be best known for designing and paying for The Gathering Place in Milton, a senior center that one resident referred to as "the hub of the city."
Allen often gave anonymously and even said, "No," the first time Pillard asked to name the building after her, Pillard said.
The dean is glad Allen changed her mind.
"This is like the star on top of the Christmas tree," Pillard said. "She has been a lifelong supporter of education, so it's only fitting that her name be on a building.
The county included $11 million in its 2007 budget for the project, slated to begin construction in spring. Allen Hall should be finished by January 2008, and the entire project should take about two years, Pillard said.
