Pitt-Bradford to dedicate new residence hall

Lester and Barbara Rice

BRADFORD, PA – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will dedicate its newest residence hall, Lester and Barbara Rice House, at 4 p.m. Sept. 10.

Following a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony, tours of the residence hall will be given and light refreshments will be served. The public is invited. Those wishing to attend the dedication are asked to RSVP to Barbara Uscinski by Sept. 5 at 814-362-7501 or uscinski@pitt.edu.

The all-suite residence hall, which has been named in honor of longtime university supporters Lester and Barbara Rice, is the fourth such residence hall built in eight years to keep up with a growing demand for on-campus housing. Rice House will bring Pitt-Bradford’s on-campus capacity to 1,047.

“This rate of campus construction reflects not only the growth in our student population, but also its changing profile. Since more of our students are coming to us from distant locations, more of our students now require on-campus accommodations,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president.

Alexander spoke about the Rices’ impact on the campus.

“Les Rice, and his wife, Barbara, are tireless advocates for our campus and, by example, helped to establish a legacy of giving not only to our campus, but to this community in general,” Alexander said.

The Rices, along with KOA Speer Electronics and the Mukaiyama-Rice Foundation, have provided substantial gifts to Pitt-Bradford over the course of many years and at critical times in the university’s development. The gifts have supported such initiatives and activities on the Bradford campus as the renovation and expansion of the Frame-Westerberg Commons, the renovation and expansion of what is now the Richard E. and Ruth McDowell Sport and Fitness Center, and the creation of an annual scholarship fund that has supported an average of 10 students each year since 1998.

In 1997, Pitt-Bradford awarded Lester Rice its highest honor, the Presidential Medal of Distinction, given to those who make significant contributions to the campus and the community.

The Rices are Detroit natives, and Lester Rice got his start in electronics in the U.S. Navy, where he attended Electronics Technician School. Later, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electronics engineering from the University of Michigan in 1951.

They also lived in Elmira, N.Y., Pittsburgh, and St. Marys before settling in Bradford, where they raised five children, Scott, Jeff, Jody, Judy and Tim. They have 12 grandchildren.

Lester Rice’s professional career began in 1951 when he joined Westinghouse Corp., where he worked seven years with the Electronic Tube Division in Elmira before transferring to the Semiconductor Division in Youngwood, where he remained for nine years.

In 1969, Lester Rice joined Airco Speer, which was then located in St. Marys. The U.S. operations merged with KOA Corp. in 1980, and KOA Speer Electronics was established in Bradford. Today KOA is one of the largest resistor suppliers to the U.S. market and has 17 plants worldwide with distribution operations in Bradford, Germany and Singapore.

Lester Rice has been active in trade groups and the Bradford community, where he has been active in the Bradford Rotary and Exchange clubs, the Bradford Family YMCA, the Bradford Area Alliance, the Pitt-Bradford Advisory Board and the board of directors of Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems.

Barbara Rice graduated from Michigan State University in 1955 with a degree in education. She then taught elementary school and flew as a TWA stewardess prior to marrying Lester Rice and staying home to raise her family. Barbara Rice has been very active in the First Presbyterian Church of Bradford, including long-term service as a Deacon. She has served on the boards of the YWCA, Bradford Creative and Performing Arts, and the Bradford Regional Medical Center Auxiliary, where her accomplishments included initiating the Surgical Liaison Function and revitalizing the resale shop.

Rice House is the first-phase of a multi-phase housing master plan that will include two or three new residence halls and the renovation and replacement of some of the university’s town houses, its original housing. The 109-bed, $9.3 million residence hall is located between Blaisdell Hall and Hanley Library.

While similar to its predecessors, Reed-Coit, Fesenmyer and Dorn houses, Rice House is a bit more architecturally interesting, with more angles.

Rick Esch, vice president of business affairs, said Rice House architects from MacLachlan, Cornelius and Filoni in Pittsburgh designed the residence hall that way because of its prominent location.

Rice House will be one of the first buildings visitors see as they arrive on campus. In addition, plans call for it to one day face onto two quadrangles – one residential, one academic.

The additional angles also make some of the suites more spacious than the standard suites at Pitt-Bradford. The two and three bedroom suites have full bathrooms, living rooms, kitchenettes and storage closets.

John Savoy and Sons of Montoursville manufactured all of the beds, desks and closets for the suites from sustainable wood. With the exception of three singles reserved for resident advisors, all rooms in the hall are doubles.

Mascaro Construction of Pittsburgh was the construction management firm overseeing the project’s completion, including the addition of 65 new parking spaces across Dorothy Lane from the university’s Hangar Building.

The university has also made a few adjustments to its auxiliary services to accommodate more students living on campus.

It built an additional laundry facility in the Ceramics Building two years ago to provide more washers and dryers for students living on campus. An automated system lets students go online to see when washers and dryers are free and tells them when their laundry is finished. Additionally, more space was added to the Ken Jadlowiec Fitness Center in the Richard E. and Ruth McDowell Sport and Fitness Center by moving some of the free weights into an adjacent space that wasn’t being used to accommodate students during those peak usage times.

While the KOA Dining Room is bound to be busy during peak hours, Esch said this academic year, the university will conduct a study to examine the feasibility of expanding the dining hall.