Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Atwood Memorial Center opened in the fall of 1966 as the social hub for St. Cloud State students as well as serving the campus community. Atwood has gone under many physical and administrative changes since 1966, but the mission remains the same - serve the student.
As St. Cloud State grew into a university, especially after World War II and the coming of age of the early Baby Boomer, calls for a student union increased. After a 1956 study authored by St. Cloud State regarding a campus student union, the process began to make it a reality. By 1961, efforts were underway to create a "living room for campus", including a student survey. In that survey, 80% of student polled were willing to be assessed a fees to support a student union.
Fundraising commenced to support the construction of a $1.5 million student union with students, friends and alumni, and the state to each pay a third of the cost. Ultimately, the state refused to pay for their third and unclear how the funds were raised.
Named for the Atwood family due to their financial support for the construction, and the fact that they building stood on the spot where their family home sat, Atwood opened its doors in September 1964. Over the next 40 years, the building expanded its physical footprint (1972, 1992, 2004) and remodeled countless times to support the changing tastes and needs of St. Cloud State students thus still being the "living Room for campus."
Atwood Memorial Center Directors:
Roger Wehrle: 6/1966-4/1971
Warren Reinecke: 7/1971-6/1972
Pat Krueger: 6/1972-6/1973 (acting)
Gary Bartlett: 7/1973-12/1981
Michael Hayman: 1/1982-6/1982 (acting)
Joseph Basil: 7/1982-7/1986
Joe Opatz: 8/1986-2/1995
Karla Myres: 1/1993-5/1993 (acting)
Margaret Vos: 2/1995-4/1998 (interim)
Margaret Vos: 4/1998-6/2013
Ed Bouffard: 7/2001-6/2002, 7/2006-6/2008 (interim)
Jessica Ostman: 7/2013-4/2014 (interim)
Anne Buttke: 4/2014-12/2014
Matt Trombley: 1/2014-10/2016 (interim)
Mitch Karstens: 11/2016-7/2018
Jessica Ostman: 9/2018-1/2020 (interim)
Clare Rahm: 1/2020-1/2021 (interim)
Matt Trombley: 1/2021+