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Welcome to Sitter Family Hall, home of FLC Geosciences, Physics & Engineering
The new Geosciences, Physics & Engineering (GPE) Hall at Fort Lewis College (FLC) will bear the name of one of the school’s most generous benefactors, the Charles & Marjorie Sitter family. From this day forward, the building will be known as Sitter Family Hall.
“I am so excited about this project,” said Marjorie Sitter. “I really feel so blessed, and it’s going to be something my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren are just going to love, and on down the road, something that keeps on giving.”
“We are pleased to honor the Sitter family and celebrate our new Hall in this way,” said FLC President Dene Thomas. “The family’s contribution in real estate in 2010 remains the single largest gift in the history of the College.”
It was Marjorie who decided to donate property in Durango to the FLC Foundation. Doug, their son, served on the FLC Foundation Board of Directors for several years, and played a strong role in securing gifts on behalf of the Foundation. When the GPE Hall became a reality, the family knew this was the project they wanted to use their gift to support.
“The Sitter family has deep roots in the Durango community dating back several decades,” the Sitter family said in a statement. “Marjorie Sitter recognized the importance of Fort Lewis College in providing the diversity and culture that makes Durango unique among mountain towns. Her son and daughter-in-law have been long time Durango residents and business owners, while her daughters are enthusiastic visitors to the community. It is Marjorie’s desire that the Sitter family gift will aid FLC students by providing a state-of-the-art facility to pursue STEM-related curriculum comparable to our country’s largest universities.”
Sitter Family Hall is the first building to be named for a donor rather than for a long-time senior leader of the College or the community.
“This is a fitting acknowledgement of a gift that continues to influence the lives of our students in so many ways,” added President Thomas. “This is an opportunity to create an awareness amongst our students that someone at some time cared enough about their education to have generously given their time and treasure to Fort Lewis College, and that when the time comes, they will consider investing into their alma mater and future generations.”
Sitter Family Hall will be formally dedicated at a ceremony on April 7 at noon. Everyone is invited to attend. Parking is free on campus beginning at 11 a.m.
The FLC Foundation will host its annual celebration and fundraiser, TLC for FLC, in the building on April 6. For more information about Sitter Family Hall or TLC, visit www.fortlewis.edu/giving.