RELEASED: Jan. 22, 2004

DANVILLE, KY—Last year was a noteworthy one at Centre College. But no event in 2003 was more critical than the groundbreaking for The College Centre—the $22 million construction and renovation project that will create a state-of-the-art academic and recreation/athletic complex.

This is according to a recent informal poll of Centre students, faculty and staff who were asked to pick the three biggest campus and national stories of the past year. More than 100 people responded to the survey.

Eighty-three percent of the respondents selected The College Centre as one of Centre's top stories. For more on The College Centre, go to http://www.centre.edu/cc/.

Coming in a close second (76 percent) was the $20-million gift to the College from the estate of Centre alumnus H.W. "Wes" Stodghill Jr. '36 and his wife, Adele Stodghill. It's the largest individual gift of non-property assets ever made to a Kentucky college or university

Centre's bid to land a 2004 Presidential Debate came in third at 39 percent, while the football team winning a share of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title was fourth (31 percent).

Other stories cited were freshman cross-country runner Eileen Schilling being named All-American, Jessica Hunt '03 winning a Fulbright scholarship, Centre's anti-war protests, volleyball player Adair Howell appearing on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine, Centre students' philanthropic efforts and senior Nate Olson starting VOYAGE (Voices of Young Americans for Global Engagement).

The top national story was the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Eighty-three percent picked it as one of the biggest happenings. The capture of Saddam Hussein was second at 73 percent, and 55 percent selected the space shuttle Columbia tragedy.

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