RELEASED: October 22, 2009

By Abby Malik

DANVILLE, KY—Homecoming at Centre College is an annual event that alumni and students alike eagerly anticipate , and Homecoming 2009 is no exception. Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, will be packed with exciting events.

Of particular interest this Homecoming weekend is the dedication of Pearl Hall, the College's newest residence facility.

Opened in August 2008, Pearl Hall was built in memory of Pearl Meader Brown and Pearl Brown Brockman, the grandmother and mother, respectively, of Robert "Bob" Brockman '63, chair of the Centre College Board of Trustees.

The dedication ceremony will be held in the lobby of Pearl Hall on Friday, Oct. 30, at noon. (Click here for a photo slideshow of Pearl Hall.)

The design of Pearl Hall combines the best features of Breckinridge Hall (another campus residence facility), where Mr. Brockman lived as a Centre freshman when he arrived on campus 50 years ago.

"Dedicating a new building is always a big deal on the Centre campus," says Richard Trollinger, vice president for college relations. "When the building is as beautiful and functional as Pearl Hall, its dedication is especially exciting for us. This dedication will also give us an opportunity to publicly thank the donor whose generosity has done so much for our students and residence life on the Centre campus."

Pearl Hall has been widely acclaimed for the functionality and appeal of its design. It's the first building in Kentucky to receive Gold LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and has the highest LEED rating of any residential facility in the state.

In April 2009, the city of Danville awarded Centre and Pearl Hall the Heart of Gold Downtown Investment Award for the remarkable contribution made to downtown Danville with the construction of this facility. More important, it receives rave reviews from the 146 Centre students, mostly juniors and seniors, who call Pearl Hall "home."

Click here for a complete Homecoming schedule, including reunion times, art gallery exhibits, sports game times, and a book signing with Tom Hardin '63, editor of the newly published book Our Standard Sure: Centre College Since 1819, the first comprehensive history of the 190-year-old college.

Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail leigh.ivey@centre.edu with your feedback.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.