The facility is located at 2626 U Street on the ASU campus, just east of Cooper Alumni Center and north of the blue entrance to the Convocation Center. The firm of Brackett-Krennerich and Associates was the architect for the project, and Olympus Construction served as the general contractor. Both firms are located in Jonesboro.

The new structure is the result of a $1 million gift from the Judd Hill Foundation to the ASU Foundation in 2005. It was the third $1 million gift the Judd Hill Foundation has made to ASU through its foundation. In 1994, the Judd Hill Chair in Environmental Biology was established as a result of a $1 million gift, and in 2004, the Judd Hill Chair in Agricultural Biotechnology was created from a second $1 million gift.

The 6,300 square-foot complex houses six formal offices, occupied by staff members of the ASU Foundation. ASU President Les Wyatt and two staff members will also have offices at Judd Hill Center.

Gibson Hall, named for Mike and Marsha Gibson of Osceola, serves as the facility’s conference and board room. Additionally the building features a gallery, catering kitchen, open reception area, storage and public restrooms. A porch at the north facade of the building overlooks the lake that lies south of the ASU pavilion.

"We are appreciative of this gift from the Judd Hill Foundation in securing a permanent home for the ASU Foundation," said Steve Owens, ASU Foundation president/CEO. "We are grateful for leaders like Mrs. Chapin and Mike Gibson, whose vision, over many years, allows growth in our region and allows growth for Arkansas State University."

Mrs. Chapin, who died in 1991 at age 91, owned and operated Judd Hill Plantation, named for her father, Orange Judd Hill, in Poinsett County. Judd Hill acquired what was then wooded acreage in the 1930s and gave it to his daughter and her husband Sam Chapin. The couple gradually cleared more than 4,600 acres of land and developed it into one of the largest contiguous row-crop farming operations in the Mid-South.

Before her death, Mrs. Chapin expressed her desire that the farm have a perpetually beneficial impact on Poinsett County and the entire region. The Judd Hill Foundation was designed to honor her wishes. Mike Gibson has served as trustee of Judd Hill Foundation since its inception.

"The Judd Hill Foundation believes the new Judd Hill Center will stand as a beacon for others who are able to give a portion of their wealth so the education needs of those less fortunate can be provided when tax dollars are not available, " Mike Gibson said. "This is exactly what Esther Hill Chapin did in 1986 when she established the Judd Hill Foundation."

"Today is about Mrs. Chapin’s charitable gift, without which this day would not be possible. We all owe a great deal of thanks to Esther Chapin."

Chartered by the state in 1977, the ASU Foundation is a non-profit corporation created for the primary purpose to receive, solicit, accept, hold and administer private gifts in support of educational programs associated with the Arkansas State University system and its entities. Since its inception, the foundation has evolved to play a primary role in the university’s growth.

Herbert McAdams served as chairman of the ASU Foundation’s first board of directors. Marilyn Hummelstein of Jonesboro is completing her term as current board chair. When the ASU Foundation began, first-year assets were $700,000. As of June 30, 2006, endowment accounts totaled $27 million.

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