UPB to Dedicate Fesenmyer House

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will dedicate its newest residence hall, Howard L. Fesenmyer House, at 4 p.m. Friday (Sept. 5, 2008) at the site adjacent to Blaisdell Hall. The program for the day will feature remarks by Howard Fesenmyer, for whom the $7.3 million residence hall is being named; Craig Hartburg, chairman of the Pitt-Bradford Advisory Board; Jessica Visseau, student government president and a junior social science major from Shinglehouse; Dr. Robert Pack, vice provost for academic planning and resources management at the University of Pittsburgh; and Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford. Following a dedication and ribbon cutting, tours of the residence hall will be given and light refreshments will be served.

Fesenmyer House accommodates 144 students in suites with private bathrooms, cable hookups, phone and computer ports, air conditioning, a shared living room and kitchen area. A card key access system enhances student security and safety.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have thought this could happen to me,” Fesenmyer said. “I am humbled, honored and pleased, and I thank Pitt-Bradford for this remarkable recognition.”

Fesenmyer is a retired Zippo Manufacturing Co. executive and executive secretary of the Blaisdell Foundation who has been an outstanding volunteer for Pitt-Bradford, serving on the university’s Advisory Board. He has been chairman of the Institutional Advancement Council of Pitt-Bradford’s Advisory Board for more than a decade, helping to lead teams of volunteers to successfully raise $10 million for the campus’s Campaign 2000. Fesenmyer also served as chairman of the Complete the Campus Campaign, which raised $13.1 million for campus construction; the Reed-Coit Scholarship Challenge, which raised $2 million for scholarships; and the Blaisdell Fine Arts Challenge, which raised $3.4 million to build Blaisdell Hall. He is currently spearheading the fundraising campaign for a campus interfaith chapel, to be built solely with private donations.

In 1998, Pitt-Bradford awarded Fesenmyer its highest honor, the Presidential Medal of Distinction, given to those who make significant contributions to the campus and the community.

Alexander said, “Howard is not only a major fundraiser for Pitt-Bradford, but he also is our greatest cheerleader and advocate.

“What drives Howard to ask for a gift is precisely what motivates our donors to give—an unselfish dedication to our campus and an abiding commitment to our students.”