UW Memorial Plaza to Be Dedicated Sept. 25

A memorial plaza honoring students who have died while attending the University of Wyoming will be dedicated Friday, Sept. 25, at 11 a.m.

Located at the east end of Prexy’s Pasture near the Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center, the plaza provides a setting for people to gather to remember and recognize deceased students. It complements other plazas developed around Prexy’s Pasture in recent years, including Simpson Plaza at the southeast corner near the Wyoming Union, Sullivan Plaza near the Education Building and Cheney Plaza at the southwest corner adjacent to the Cheney International Center.

Plans to construct the plaza have been in the works since 2011, when the Associated Students of UW (ASUW) began discussions about how best to use funding to create an area for remembrance and reflection to commemorate past and present students, says ASUW President Brian Schueler, of Buffalo. He will be among speakers at the dedication ceremony.

“Over the years, we have had losses, and times of sadness, that have impacted not just the students and their families, but the entire university community. Although we have a lot of great areas on campus for recreation or to gather for other events, we didn’t really have until now a place that is specific for remembrance and these times of reflection,” Schueler says. “It’s important to have a place that will provide, after these times of sadness, an area and a space for healing the University of Wyoming family.”

The $235,000 project was funded by the ASUW Student Services Endowment. The design includes native sandstone blocks and granite boulders set in low retaining walls with raised planting beds. Much of the sandstone was salvaged from the Half Acre renovation project. A combination of colored concrete and flagstone paving defines the boundaries of the memorial.

Landscaping includes small ornamental shrubs, native ground cover, alpine plant beds and bluegrass sod to harmonize with Prexy’s Pasture.