On October 7th, 2005, the Board for Student Publications received a $3 million donation from a very generous 1948 Michigan Daily and Michiganensian alum, Stanford Lipsey. After nearly eight years of desperately trying to raise donations in order to renovate the Student Publications Building, Lipsey came in at the right time to push the project from dreams to reality.

The Student Publications Building, located at 420 Maynard Street, included offices for The Michigan Daily, The Michiganensian Yearbook, and The Gargoyle humor magazine. The building had housed these publications for 73 years, providing workspace and a home for the dedicated students. Most editors spent nights in the building until 3 a.m or even crashed on the couch when it became too late to brave the cold and walk home. It was more than just an office space; it was a study room, a dining room, and most of all, a comfort zone.

Senior communication studies and English major and 2005 Editor-in-Chief of The Michiganensian Yearbook Katrina Deutsch said, "For most members of a student publication, they spend as much, if not more time, in the Student Publications Building than they do at home. Not only do heat and electricity need to work, but feeling comfortable and safe is very important for students, especially because students work there at night."

Unfortunately, over the years, the Student Publications Building had become less than an inviting place to work or visit. Problems such as paint chipping off the walls, asbestos lining the walls, floors caving in, and windows failing to keep out the Michigan winter all plagued the building. Deutsch continued, "The girl's bathroom on the bottom floor definitely has not been updated since my father attended the University in the 1960s. Every time I leave I feel dirtier than when I came in and one of the windows is broken."

Enter Stan Lipsey, Pulitzer Prize winner and newspaper tycoon. After being notified of the Board for Student Publications' fundraising efforts by friend and fellow Michiganensian alum Alan Grossman, Lipsey decided to make a donation of $3 million to aid the renovation of the building.

Lipsey said, "It was just very logical. I've been at newspapers all my life. And here my Alma Mater is ready to take a building that needs to be refurbished, what more logical cause for me to donate to? Certain things have a time and it was a time for me to give. Ten years ago wouldn't have been the right time for me to give but now I was very much interested."

In order to donate the gift, Lipsey and Grossman traveled to Ann Arbor for a signing ceremony in President Mary Sue Coleman's office. That Friday marked the beginning of a whole new chapter for student publications at the University. The first step was renaming the building The Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building.

Since the University did not have its own journalism school, the Board for Student Publications felt that the Student Publications Building had to fill that role, providing state-of-the-art working conditions for students to receive the proper education to continue in the field later in life. The Board for Student Publications cochair Jim Reische said, "It is increasingly important because the students do a terrific job, they need the best facilities to reach their potential. We owe it [to the students] to have the best possible equipment and general working environment to put their skills to work." Reische also expressed that with new technology and visions implemented, working on a student publication would become more appealing to students.

Lipsey agreed, "I'm hoping that we'll have a gorgeous building again and that the students will thrive here and enjoy the work they are doing." Renovation plans included new workspaces and furniture, an elevator to make the building handicap accessible, historical tile and staircase refurbishing, moving around offices, and air-conditioning the building.

Deutsch expressed, "I'm a little sad that it is my senior year and when I come back and visit my office won't be in the same place, but I understand that it is for the betterment of the publications."

The new building would extremely increase the technology and flexibility of the building as well as keep the historical uniqueness that it was known for. After such a long time of trying to make this happen, it was a sigh of relief for the Board of Student Publications. Reische concluded, "[The Board] has worked hard to make this happen. The building badly needed it because of the condition of the physical structure. It is a wonderful opportunity because rarely do fund raising efforts pay off and it feels really good to provide for generations to come."

The Board for Student Publications was hoping to continue their fund raising efforts to further improve the status and upkeep of the new building. In the words of President Mary Sue Coleman, "our young journalists make miracles," and it was extremely important to create a virtual journalism school for those interested in the program.

by Emily DeMarco