Cooper Alumni Center receives gift from Sam and Marilyn Hummelstein

Oct. 13, 2008 -- The Arkansas State University Alumni Association has received a major gift toward the new Cooper Alumni Center from Marilyn McCracken Hummelstein and Sam Hummelstein of Jonesboro. The Cooper Alumni Center held a 'soft opening' on Sept. 20, and holds its formal dedication on Oct. 17.

According to Beth Smith, executive director of the ASU Alumni Association, "Sam and Marilyn do so much for ASU, and we appreciate them tremendously." The area at the Alumni Center to be named for the Hummelsteins is a reception area overlooking the lake.

Marilyn McCracken Hummelstein, president of the St. Bernards Development Foundation, received a bachelor's degree in education from ASU-Jonesboro in 1974. She represents the fourth generation of her family with ties to ASU, going back to 1910 when her great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. C. V. Warr, were the first non-faculty personnel hired by President V. C. Kays for what was then the First District Agricultural School. Her grandmother, Margaret Warr, was in the college's first four-year class, which graduated in 1932.

Says Marilyn Hummelstein, "ASU is a part of me; I can't imagine not being a part of ASU."  Regarding her gift, she said, "ASU is family, and that's what you do. I was a part of the university long before I went to school there. When I was young, we lived on campus with my mother's family. It was always a part of my life."

She adds, "I just loved my college days, loved dorm life, loved it all. But ASU was a part of me long before that. It's responsible for the person I am today. So it's just natural that I want to give back to ASU. It's part of who I am." Speaking of the new Alumni Center, Hummelstein said, "Of course I wanted to be part of it."

For more than 30 years, the Hummelsteins have worked together in managing the family business, Hummelstein Iron and Metal.

There are currently more than 60,000 ASU alumni. For more information on the Alumni Association or the Cooper Alumni Center, contact the ASU Alumni office at 870-972-ALUM (2586), or email alumni@astate.edu. For more details and pictures of the facility, see the Alumni Association website at http://www.astatealumni.org.                                                                

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