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Show dent announced his retirement from administration at the college at the end of the current school year. D. Parry Wilson was chosen to replace Clarke as administrative vice president, and at the same time it was announced that Dello Dayton who had been serving on an interim basis as academic vice president would become the permanent academic vice president. Following Daytons permanent appointment, Thomas Burton was chosen as assistant vice president for academic affairs. During the spring of 1976 and again during December of 1976, the Institutional Council voted 7 to 3 to recommend to the Board of Regents to retain President Bishop. In February of 1976, approval was given to place a fountain adjacent to the retention basin which was under construction on the campus. The funds for the fountain and the area surrounding it were donated by the Lindquist family and they asked that the area be designated the Ada Lindquist Plaza. The fountain which shoots water 60 feet into the air was first turned on during a dedication ceremony in May of 1977. The Museum of Natural Science located in the Science Building was developed under the leadership of H. Keith Harrison. Construction for the Dee Events Center which began in March of 1975 was completed two and one-half years later. The total cost for the project reached 11,400,000 and the 11,600 seat arena became the home for the Weber Wildcat basketball team and other college events following the November 1, 1977 dedication. Community, alumni, and business support aided in the completion of the Dee Center. The Center included room and area sponsors and memorializa-tions. Major contributors to these programs were the Dr. Junior Edward Rich family, the Ogden Standard Examiner, the Samelius Foundation, and the J. W. Brewer family who donated the scoreboard. Dale Gardner was named director of the Dee Center during the spring of 1977. The first events in the new Dee Center included a basketball game (W.S.C. vs Long Beach, Weber won 99-96 in an overtime game), an appearance by the King Family, and a performance of Handels Messiah. The new two-level technical education building was completed during the summer of 1977 at a cost of 4.2 million, and the 1977 legislature provided 205,000 for upgrading Webers electrical distribution system. The new technical education building was dedicated on April 27, 1978, and souvenir plastic letter openers were molded in new equipment in the building as gifts for those attending the dedication. As part of the fitness movement in the nation, Weber developed a one-mile Par-course in 1977 which was located on the east side of the campus for walking, jogging, and exercising. In September of 1977, the college traded some property with the Weber State College Federal Employees Credit Union. The Credit Union proceeded to build a credit union building on their newly acquired property on the southwest corner of the campus. During October of 1977, the national convention for the Association for General and Liberal Studies was held on the Weber campus. Introduced on the Weber campus in the mid-1970s was the CLEP examination (College Level Examination Program) which allowed students to convert training and or experience into college credit by successfully passing the examination. On December 16, 1977, the Deseret News announced that President Joseph L. Bishop had been called as a mission president by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His three-year mission call would become effective July 1, 1978, and the area of his mission would be designated at a later date. During Bishops tenure in office the appropriations to the college from the state grew from 6 million to nearly 16 million (these budget figures do not include tuition). With the announcement of Bishops new assignment, a joint search committee for a new president was organized under the direction of the Board of Regents. The 22 member search committee was chaired by regent Omer Buttars and included representation from students, staff, faculty, the Weber administration, the community, the Institutional Council, and the Board of Regents. Applications for the position were accepted until March 15, 1978, and by that date, 154 applicants had filed their resumes with the committee. The presidential applicants were from 40 states, 2 were from Canada, and 1 from the Virgin Islands. On June 11, 1978, Rodney Brady was appointed president of Weber State College. Bradys appointment began a new era in Webers history. Over the past 16 years Weber had undergone growing pains from a junior college to a four year institution, and had just recently been granted part of a joint masters degree in education. The face of the campus had changed in both new buildings and completed landscaping. The student body had grown larger in size and more diverse in its nature as Weber attracted more minority students and by the 1970s many more non-traditional students were attending classes. After six years at Weber State, President Joseph Bishop left the college to become president of the Buenos Aires, Argentina Mission for the L.D.S. Church. Upon accepting the presidency at the college, Bradys response that the basic missions of institutions of higher education must be teaching and learning would set the course for his presidency and tie it to the past history of the college. |