VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSU) – Valley City State University commemorated the reopening of McCarthy Hall with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Sept. 26, celebrating a $13.5 million renovation of the building.
After a yearlong remodel, McCarthy Hall reopened to students and employees in August as the new home for VCSU’s renowned School of Education and the Department for Technology and STEM Education. The Ribbon Cutting held Friday during Homecoming Week was the culmination of a project that modernized the building and brought first-class education spaces to VCSU’s students.
“We are so grateful for this facility and for all who have helped contribute to it,” said Alan LaFave, President of VCSU. “We finally have an updated facility that matches the quality and the reputation of our education program and the faculty. We award more undergraduate degrees in teaching than any other institution in the state, leading the way in providing this very important and critical part of the North Dakota workforce.”
McCarthy Hall was built in the early 1930s and initially used as a training school for prospective teachers attending VCSU. The building later housed a wide variety of VCSU courses including technology education, art and psychology.
Student speaker Delaney Vilhauer, a senior majoring in elementary education, took classes in McCarthy during her first two years and is now finishing her degree in the newly renovated space.
“My favorite part of being back in McCarthy is being connected again,” said Vilhauer, who expressed her appreciation for the renovations and the new resources available in McCarthy Hall. “We have everything we need in one place. The education community we have built here is so strong, and I’m very grateful I get to see it strengthen every day.”
“Today isn’t about just cutting a ribbon on a newly renovated building,” said Allen Burgad, Dean for the VCSU School of Education. “It’s about opening doors to even greater opportunities for our students, our faculty, and the schools we partner with. This new teacher education center will help us continue to prepare educators who go on to impact students, not only here in North Dakota, but across the country and even internationally.”
Laren Holcomb, son of Linda Holcomb who taught at VCSU for over 30 years, spoke Friday on behalf of the families.
“My mother loved her students, they held a special place in her heart,” he said. “My family often gets a chance to meet her former students throughout our daily lives, and we hear how much her former students loved her too. Four generations of my family have passed through VCSU. It truly is a special place for my family, and we are extremely excited to see all the wonderful improvements through the campus now and coming in the future.”
The renovation of McCarthy Hall is part of the first-ever capital campaign project at VCSU. The $13.5 million project was made possible through the generous support of donors, VCSU funds and $11.5 million allocated by the North Dakota Legislature and approved by former Gov. Doug Burgum. The bulk of the private donations came from the Holcomb and Stowman families who have deep connections to VCSU.
An interesting fact about McCarthy Hall, it was the first commercial structure in North Dakota to use steel bar joist construction. The building is named after Margaret McCarthy, who directed the college training school from 1919 to 1945.
