Montana State University will host a grand opening celebration for Romney Hall on Friday, Nov. 12. The event will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. in the building, located along Grant Street west of the Strand Union Building. The event is free and open to the public. Parking will be free in the MSU Parking Garage.

The event will feature remarks from MSU President Waded Cruzado; Tracy Ellig, vice president of University Communications; Norris Blossom, president of the Associated Students of MSU; Joe Schumacher, director of the university’s Veteran Services office; Elizabeth Burroughs, head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences; Michelle Miley, director of the MSU Writing Center; David Sussberg, a recent MSU graduate representing the Office of Disability Services; and Chris Murray, president and CEO of the Alumni Foundation.

After the ceremony, guest will be welcome to explore the building on self-guided tours.

Constructed between 1921 and 1923, Romney was MSU's original physical education building. Nearly 100 years later, the building was no longer suited to its original purpose, but held great promise as a major classroom building in the center of campus. After a decade of work with lawmakers to seek funding, the 2019 Montana Legislature and then-Governor Steve Bullock approved $25 million for the repurposing of Romney Hall. Generous contributions from numerous donors also made the project possible.

The repurposed Romney Hall will hold 17 classrooms with more than 1,000 seats as well as centers for mathematics, writing, veterans and students with disabilities. Able to provide more than 1 million classroom-seat hours per year, it will be one of the mostly intensely used classroom buildings on campus.  

For more information on Romney Hall, visit https://www.montana.edu/communications/romney/index.html.