Media Contact:
Patricia Arnold
(773) 995-2388
pl-arnold@csu.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Emil and Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center
To Be Dedicated October 7

CHICAGO (SEPT. 30)—Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, state legislators and other officials will join Chicago State board members, faculty, staff and students for the official dedication of the Emil and Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center, near 98th Street and St. Lawrence Avenue, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.

The convocation center is a 7,000-seat multipurpose arena that hosts basketball, concerts, commencements and other campus and public events. The center officially opened in Fall 2007 and was named for Senator Jones, who has been a strong supporter of the South Side campus.

"Emil Jones' legacy of public service to the State of Illinois is unmatched, and I am proud to call him a friend," said Governor Rod R. Blagojevich. "Chicago State University holds a special place in his heart, and this center bearing his name, and that of his late wife Patricia, is a small repayment for the debt of gratitude we owe this great man."

The dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony includes remarks by Senator Jones; CSU Trustees the Rev. Leon D. Finney, Jr., Ph.D. and the Rev. Richard Tolliver, Ph.D.; CSU Interim President Frank Pogue; Capital Development Board Chairman Anthony Licata; State Senator Donne E. Trotter (D) 17th District; Constance A. “Connie” Howard, 34th District; and student leaders Jawuan Sutton, Student Trustee, and Rufus Jackson, Student Government Association president.

A reception immediately follows the ceremony in the foyer of the convocation center.

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ABOUT CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY
Chicago State University was founded as a teacher training school in Blue Island, Illinois on September 2, 1867. Today, the university is a fully accredited public, urban institution located on 161 picturesque acres in a residential community on Chicago’s Southside. CSU is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor of Illinois. The university’s five colleges—Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Pharmacy—offer 36 undergraduate and 25 graduate and professional degree-granting programs. CSU also offers an interdisciplinary Honors College for students in all areas of study and has a Division of Continuing Education and Non-Traditional Programs that reaches out to the community with extension courses, distance learning and not-for-credit programs.