BLOOMINGTON - The Minor Myers Welcome Center will stand as a steel-and-brick monument to the former Illinois Wesleyan University president, but the framework of the building will contain a more personal tribute anyone can be a part of.

As part of homecoming festivities, IWU dignitaries gathered Saturday morning on the grounds of the campus's Evelyn Chapel, 1210 N. Park St., Bloomington, to honor Myers. The late IWU president died in 2003 after leading the campus nearly 15 years.

They signed two, 13-foot steel beams painted green in honor of the school colors of green and white.

The beams, which will be used in the center's roof, will sit on the chapel lawn for three days, and people will be able to sign them from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

"I feel like I'm in the presence of Minor," IWU benefactor Gertrude Modahl said as she waited for the ceremony to begin and her chance to sign afterward. She said she knows the late president would have been happy to see IWU build a welcome center.

"You just feel a family connection - he created a family-type atmosphere," she said of the campus. "He was always asking about you instead of talking about himself."

To open in fall 2008

The 19,000-square-foot building is scheduled to open in fall 2008. The first floor will house admissions offices, a 75-seat auditorium and a lounge featuring exhibits focusing on IWU history. Illinois Wesleyan's career center and a large conference room will be on the second floor.

"I think it is a fitting tribute to his work," said IWU President Richard Wilson.

Some architectural elements from Evelyn Chapel and Presser Hall will be echoed in the design of the new building, Wilson said. "That's the linkage we're trying to make," he said.

While the building will pay homage to the past, it also will acknowledge the future in several ways. For example, it will use 55 wells for an environmentally friendly geothermal heating-and-cooling system, Wilson said.

Wilson was one of several people who signed the beam simultaneously after the ceremony of less than half an hour.

One speaker was 1982 graduate Robert Murray, now IWU dean of enrollment management.

A good impression

He said his traditional reminder to his children on the first day of school is "You get one chance to make a good first impression." He said the welcome center will make a good first impression for IWU.

Signing the beam meant something a bit different for each person.

"I guess as a senior it's part of something new that's coming to the university as I'm leaving," said Katie Hudson, a student from Oak Lawn. "So it's a blend of the two experiences."

Sealing the deal

Her sister, Elizabeth Hudson, had a bit of a different perspective as a freshman. "I feel like I'm coming in and now I can be a part of it - like sealing the deal now that I attend Wesleyan," she said.

Tony DeRosa, a 1975 graduate from Long Point, said he'll feel like a part of history "to know that my name is on one of those beams."

"Well, it's something you can tell your grandkids about," said Warren Johnson, assistant maintenance foreman at IWU, who has seven grandchildren. He punched in to start work at 5:18 a.m. Saturday as part of a crew of about three dozen people working to keep homecoming events running smoothly.

Homecoming festivities Saturday ranged from a pancake breakfast and classic car show on the quadrangle to an alumni luncheon and the football game against Elmhurst College.

Homecoming continues with a chapel service at 10 a.m. today and the Acacia fraternity alumni football game.