Since the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center opened in October 2014 as the University of Wyoming’s front door, it has become the premier destination for welcoming people to Wyoming’s university.
With ample parking and quick and convenient bus transportation, the Gateway Center is a first stop for many visitors to the University of Wyoming. The Gateway Center hosts everyone from individuals to large gatherings—prospective student visits and alumni reunions, fans of home athletic contests and university events, and much more.
“The university has beautiful buildings, but we’ve never really had that place where people can come in and feel welcome and find a well-represented vision for the university and a place that alumni and students and prospective students can be equally at home,” says Toby Marlatt, vice president for marketing and communications at the UW Foundation.
“People have been surprised by the facility,” says Keener Fry, executive director of the Alumni Association. “They have been taken by the amount of effort put into the Legacy Hall and proud when they see the bucking horse used so prominently, especially when they understand that Wyoming craftsmen were a part of the project. So it’s a real sense of pride and satisfaction.”
“This facility definitely provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere for visiting prospective students and families,” says Rob Dennis, associate director of recruiting in the Carol and Ramon Tomé Student Admissions Center. “They walk in and marvel at this as an entrance to the University of Wyoming. UW has so many exciting opportunities. The Gateway Center truly encapsulates the future student experience at UW. ”
“It’s been great,” says Jo Chytka, director of the Center for Advising and Career Services. “Employers really like it. They really like the convenience of parking, and the rooms are really lovely.”
“It’s very easy to throw a party here,” says Derek Jones, associate director of Catering and Events. “It’s far and above anything we have on the university campus in terms of event space, the wow-pop factor. I think it’s on an arm all by itself, something that hasn’t been done before.”
The Gateway Center brings people together—whether they’re students, prospective students, alumni, or friends, or they’re the staff who enthusiastically connect the university with all those who love it.
The Gateway Center is home to the UW Alumni Association, Admissions, Career Services, and the Foundation and contains office and collaborative space for these units as they support and promote the university.
Before the center was constructed, these units were housed in buildings across campus. Now, the majority of these departments are under one roof, and they can collaborate more efficiently and effectively to serve UW.
Admissions can work with the Alumni Association to benefit both prospective students and alumni. For example, alumni bring their kids to campus as prospective students, and they can get a tour at Admissions and meet-and-greet at the Alumni Association just down the hall.
Plus, the Alumni Association is working with Admissions to contact alumni in towns across Wyoming and beyond to meet with high school students who want to attend UW. Seventeen in-state events and three out-of-state events were held this year.
The Foundation and the Alumni Association can work more closely together to raise support for the university in a number of ways. Donors who are also alumni are connected with Alumni Association events and benefits, and alums who are interested in becoming donors are easily connected with a major gift officer.
The Alumni Association and Career Services can work together to connect current UW students with alums who are now successful employees or owners of companies—to the satisfaction of both.
The Foundation, Admissions, and Career Services work together to support students in many different ways before, during, and after their time here at Wyoming’s university.
And everyone mentions the great parking. Parking for the Gateway Center is in the War Memorial Stadium lot. It’s free, plentiful, and convenient. Visitors no longer have to search for parking near Knight Hall and hazard a ticket if their visit runs long. They have the option of the convenient and free bus transportation.
An excellent benefit of the Gateway Center for current UW students is the Career Services offerings.
The Gateway Center has hosted career fairs put on by the Center for Advising and Career Services for colleges across campus. There are 10 technologically advanced interview rooms that allow students to interview with prospective employers either in person or long distance. Career Services also hosts an etiquette dinner, which allows students to learn how to act when going to dinner with their bosses, and the attendees include those possible future bosses.
“The atmosphere (of the center) is very professional,” says Chytka of Career Services. “Students appreciate it, and the employers definitely appreciate the ambiance.”
All of campus benefits from the superb event space, whether it’s a conference, a board meeting, or football tailgating. The Laramie community, too, holds events at the Gateway.
“We have really built a dynamic versatile team to work with all ranges of departments, campus communities, and local and regional business and organizations to fulfill whatever it is they need for their event or their specific details for their conference,” says Jones of Catering and Events. “Talk to us and let us know what you need. We’re happy to help with whatever they need to have successful events and to showcase this building and the university.”
Another way students, faculty, and staff benefit is through the university’s donors. The facility itself was built entirely with private support. Through the vision and guidance of the UW Foundation Board of Directors, UW has raised private funds for the building, making this the largest fundraising facility project in UW history.
“The donors who have given to this building have a real sense of ownership and pride in the facility,” says Foundation’s Marlatt. “Any time you can achieve a donor’s vision and listen to them and follow through, then you’re doing what is the fundamental part of fundraising.”
Word is getting out about the Gateway Center and the services it offers. It’s happening organically as more people hear about the facility and attend events.
“The remarkable presentation of the history of the university is really special,” says Fry of the Alumni Association. “It truly does grow an alum’s pride in the university and what has been accomplished since 1886—for us, since 1895. To show us as part of that 120-year history is of immense value to the Alumni Association.”
“It’s just exciting to be in this facility, and it comes through in our presentations,” says Admission’s Dennis.
The eventual goal, says Jones, is to have multiple events in all spaces throughout the day—a conference in the ballroom, a brunch in the McMurry Foundation UW Legacy Hall, a private event in the Roy and Caryl Cline UW President’s Room, visitors in the McMurry Foundation Grand Atrium and the Alumni Association, prospective students in the Carol and Ramon Tomé Student Admissions Center, employers and UW students in the career rooms, meetings in the meeting spaces, and donors visiting the Foundation.
“Overall, we’ve certainly achieved the vision of the building,” says Marlatt. “In as much as facilities can represent an organization and what an organization is about, the Gateway Center represents what the university is about. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
