Media Contacts:
Dr. Bob Lyons, 919/515-1192 or bob_lyons@ncsu.edu
Mick Kulikowski, News Services, 919/515-3470 or mick_kulikowski@ncsu.edu


Dec. 18, 2000

Groundbreaking Set for Dec. 20 at Raulston Arboretum

With gold shovels gleaming, North Carolina State University officials will break ground at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 20, on the first structure funded in part by money from the statewide $3.1 billion higher education bond referendum -- a long-needed education center at the JC Raulston Arboretum.

Media coverage of the event is welcomed. NC State officials will be available for interviews. The event is free and open to the public. The Raulston Arboretum is at 4301 Beryl Road in west Raleigh.

The Ruby C. McSwain Education Center will be a 6,000-square-foot teaching, extension and outreach facility located on the arboretum’s grounds. It is scheduled to be completed in 18 months. Bond funds provided $500,000 of the building’s total $4.2 million cost.

The building is named for Ruby Vann Crumpler McSwain of Sanford, a noted philanthropist who contributed $1.2 million toward the education center’s completion. She will be recognized by Chancellor Marye Anne Fox at the groundbreaking.

The new center will feature classrooms and an auditorium, says Dr. Bob Lyons, arboretum director and JC Raulston Professor of Horticultural Science. NC State students will use the classrooms, and the building will also be available for use by gardening-related groups, including the Friends of the Arboretum, Cooperative Extension Service field faculty, local garden clubs, and green industry representatives. Currently, the arboretum has no education center. "Having this center on the grounds will greatly enhance our teaching and public education efforts," Lyons said.

William Friday, president emeritus of the University of North Carolina system, will also recognize donor J. Willie York and the York family at the ceremony. The education center's auditorium will be named in honor of the York family. Other donors to be recognized include Annie Laurie Williams and the Garden Club of North Carolina.

Dr. James L. Oblinger, dean of NC State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will preside at the groundbreaking.

--kulikowski--

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