Slideshow: Pamperin dedication is family affair

The words “home” and “family” were thrown about quite a bit at the Sept. 8 dedication ceremony for Keith Pamperin Hall, the $7.5 million, 126-bed addition to the Residence Life complex. The large crowd (nearly 250 people) included some of Pamperin’s old college “brothers,” the new residents of “his” building, and dozens upon dozens of community friends and members of the honoree’s extended family. His 92-year-old mother and his baby grandchild were by his side.

Pamperin, a 1970 graduate of UW-Green Bay, drew a big reaction when he moved to the lectern to deliver his remarks, gestured to the three-story building and his own name above the entrance in marquee-sized lettering, and said, “Well… this is one thing I can take off my bucket list.”

The first alumnus to have a residence hall named in his honor, Pamperin was one of the first students to live on campus, in the “Bay Apartments.” He graduated from UW-Green Bay in 1970 with a degree in Urban Analysis. He spent 38 years as the housing administrator in Green Bay and Brown County, where he promoted affordable housing and good public policy. He also helped developed the unique funding mechanism for on-campus housing at UW-Green Bay through University Village Housing Inc. (UVHI) — the private, non-profit group that issues bonds for the buildings. Those bonds in turn, are paid off with student rent.

Describing his extensive work with UVHI, Pamperin quoted Downtown Green Bay Executive Director Jeff Mirkes (who had borrowed the quote from Bishop Robert Morneau). “Growth demands participation,” he explained to the crowd.

For more on Pamperin and his reflections on being a UW-Green Bay student in the early years, see the video here. To see images from dedication day, click thumbnails below to enter slideshow view.

Photos by Billie Jo Maedke, student photography intern, Office of Marketing and University Communication