Long Beach State officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly-constructed Anna W. Ngai Alumni Center on April 16.
The center is located along Beach Drive near the University Student Union and will open in Fall 2022.
The $11.5 million construction project was funded by private sponsors and contributors, according to the alumni center website.
The alumni center aims to create a safe space for the CSULB students and alumni to gather for career development, networking and mentorship, according to the alumni center website.
Director of Alumni Engagement Noemi Guevara explained that the building will be utilized once it opens in the fall.
“The Anna W. Ngai Alumni Center will be used to engage the CSULB community, alumni, donors, business and community partners,” Guevara said. “Meetings, seminars, executive meetings by various advisory boards, and networking will all take place here.”
Guevara also says that the center will give the students a chance to connect with alumni who can help them when they are struggling.
“Students will find the new alumni center to be a permanent home for current and future alumni,” Guevara said. “It’s a repository of the history of those who came before them and contributed to the success of The Beach.”
Anna W. Ngai, the lead donor for the alumni center, expressed why an alumni center is needed at CSULB in a 2017 video.
“Other Cal States already have the Alumni Center and we don’t have one. I meet alumni from Long Beach. We all feel so warm and we also feel connected,” Ngai said. “We are all like a big family and it would be nice to build an Alumni Center.”
The new alumni center will replace the Soroptimist House.
Built in 1957, the Soroptimist House was a student union for the college. A group called the “Soroptimist” (“best for women” in Latin), was formed in order to help women raise money for scholarships. The small group still raises funds annually.
The building was demolished as a result of damage from earthquakes with the new alumni center built in its place.