Binghamton University will be using a recent alumni donation to fund the construction of a new welcome center at the main entrance of campus.

Roger and Charlene Kramer, 1972 and 1973 graduates with a BU scholarship fund under their name, have donated $1.2 million to a $2.5 million project that calls for a complete renovation of the information booth on Glenn G. Bartle Drive. The Charlene and Roger Kramer Welcome Center will be built as an extension of the booth and will have an information desk, bathrooms, brochures and flat-screen televisions advertising local restaurants. State money from a SUNY construction fund will also be used along with the donation. Construction is planned to begin summer 2022.

The donation serves as a “thank you” to the University from the Kramers for the opportunities and memories BU offered during their time as first-generation college graduates.

“I have such fond memories of my time at [BU] that I wanted to give back to my school,” Roger Kramer said. “Helping out with the construction of a welcome center was a great opportunity. My late wife, Charlene Kahlor Kramer, ’73, and I were both the first generation of our families to graduate from college and the University helped my wife, in particular, by providing her with scholarships and work-study opportunities. We were both so grateful to have received our undergraduate degrees from [BU].”

In a FOX 40 article, BU President Harvey Stenger shared his hopes that the Charlene and Roger Kramer Welcome Center will be a means of better communication and direction with visitors of the University.

“When people come to campus, they don’t really know where to go,” Stenger said. “So now they’ll have directions, they’ll be able to stay there, they can park right here for free. They can walk the campus from here … or they can move their car to admissions parking if they want to do that.”

According to Ryan Yarosh, BU’s senior director of media and public relations, BU hosts over 500 organized events and activities, and brings in around 300,000 visitors annually. These visitors include parents, prospective students, campus event attendees, sports attendees, collaborators and future partners, friends and family of the BU community. Yarosh said the amount of traffic the University receives generates around $15 million for the Binghamton area and $18 million statewide.

He said the Charlene and Roger Kramer Welcome Center will help market the University even more and give a fulfilling and inspiring experience for all visitors and prospective students.

“Arrival at [BU] signals the beginning of an inspiring journey,” Yarosh wrote in an email. “With this significant project, [BU] will establish an important cue to visitors that each campus visit represents an opening gateway to a greater future. The Charlene and Roger Kramer Welcome Center will establish a new and welcoming entry to the campus that inspires visitors with the potential made possible through a [BU] education, communicates our connection to our communities and engages visitors in the depth and breadth of our shared legacy.”

Athina Glumicic, a junior majoring in psychology, is excited about the Charlene and Roger Kramer Welcome Center and what it will bring for the University.

“I think this is exactly what the University needed,” Glumicic said. “The information booth on campus is not significant enough and a welcome center will be a great unifier for the University. Having a place of resources at the entrance of campus keeps BU organized and professional and I think a lot of visitors and prospective students will resonate with that. I’m excited for construction to begin.”