Pendergraft Library Reaches 20 Years of Service to ATU

Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center ATU
Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center

Arkansas Tech University will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center with a ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 16.

The event will begin at 11 a.m. on the first floor at the library, located at 305 West Q Street on the ATU campus in Russellville. The event was originally scheduled for the south portico of the library, but it was moved indoors due to forecasts of cold temperatures.

Light refreshments will be served and tours of the building will be available after the ceremony.

Scheduled speakers include Fritz Kronberger, chairman of the ATU Board of Trustees; Dr. Sean McDougal, member of the ATU Board of Trustees at the time Pendergraft Library and Technology Center was planned, constructed and dedicated; and Dr. Robin E. Bowen, ATU president.

Made possible by a $13 million gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, Pendergraft Library and Technology Center opened in June 1999 and was dedicated on Oct. 30, 1999. It is a three-story, 91,000-square foot facility designed by AMR Architects of Little Rock and built by Van Horn Construction of Russellville.

The namesake of the building, Ross Pendergraft, was a 1948 graduate of Arkansas Tech who went on to serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Donrey Media Group. He died in 1998.

For more information about the 20th anniversary event, call (479) 968-0400.

For more information about Pendergraft Library and Technology Center, visit library.atu.edu or call (479) 964-0570.