A 50+ year history of giving creates new learning opportunities for College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science students.
Alumni, donors, friends, Michigan Technological University leadership, and College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) faculty and staff gathered at the Ford Center and Forest on Tuesday, October 1, to celebrate the expansion and dedication of the Steve Danis Conference Room.
The expansion, which nearly doubles the size of the space, was made possible by donations from alumni and friends. The lead gift for the project came from Lieutenant Colonel Stephen J. Danis ’53 (BS Forestry). A longtime supporter of Michigan Tech, Danis made his first gift in 1967. His history of giving has continued to this day, supporting Michigan Tech as a donor every year for 57 years. Danis’ impact spans across campus, with contributions to more than 20 different areas of Michigan Tech including four scholarships in his name that support ROTC and CFRES students.
“I’m most impressed with the students here. I feel good about the country when I look at them and see what we’ve got to take us into the future,” Danis said. “I’m very happy with the result.”
Michigan Tech President Rick Koubek spoke on the impact of this investment, which accommodates the ongoing growth and success of the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science and the University.
"This investment in expanding the capacity of this facility couldn't come at a better or more appropriate time. Not only to make it bigger, but also to provide an environment that's worthy of the students that we have here at Michigan Tech."
During the ceremony, students who were participating in Fall Camp—Michigan Tech’s Integrated Field Practicum, which requires natural resource students to spend an entire semester living, working, and studying at the Ford Center—spoke on the unique experience that Fall Camp offers and how it differentiates Michigan Tech from other schools.
One student shared, “No where else can I go out after class, go to the lake, sit on a log, and watch a beaver tear apart a maple tree, or check out the Northern Lights overhead and then just come back and finish my assignment.”
Another student noted the importance of having a learning space that makes him feel like he is outside. “If we’re about to go do something, I can look out and visualize what I’m going to do that day. It’s really nice to have this room with all these glass windows,” he said.
Large sliding doors connect the Steve Danis Conference Room to an outdoor patio constructed of pavers. Alumni and friends of CFRES supported this project by purchasing personalized, engraved pavers that leave their mark on Michigan Tech and memorialize their time spent at the Ford Center.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
