[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Stephen_Joe.jpg” caption=”Joe Stephen, president of the McMaster Alumni Association, announced a $500,000 gift to the David Braley Athletic Centre. Below, Stephen chats with McMaster University President Peter George. Photos by Susan Bubak.”]Former students of McMaster University this morning gave half a million dollars to the David Braley Athletic Centre. The atrium of the Centre will now be known as the Alumni Atrium.

The donation was announced this morning by Joe Stephen, president of the McMaster Alumni Association, on behalf of 131,000 graduates of the University who are scattered across the planet in more than 128 countries.

This is the Association's second gift to McMaster's new athletic complex: Two years ago, it gave $250,000 towards the Alumni Field located adjacent to the Ronald V. Joyce Stadium. Combined with this recent gift, the Association has donated more than $1 million over the last two decades, supporting everything from student bursaries to the McMaster University Student Centre.

The David Braley Athletic Centre and the soon-to-be-opened Ronald V. Joyce Stadium are two of the largest athletic projects undertaken on a Canadian university campus. The facilities are able to host everything from intramural league games, varsity competitions and personal fitness regimens to national and international championships and Olympic hopefuls.

In the two years since the Centre opened, memberships have increased to more than 10,000 students, a jump of 22 per cent. As well, participation in intramural sports is up 30 per cent.

“We know how important athletic and recreation facilities are to the life of the University and the community that surrounds it,” says Stephen in his announcement. “The McMaster Alumni Association is proud to be part of bringing a new standard of excellence to current and future students.”

Peter George, president of McMaster, said, “There has not been a day since I became president that I have not appreciated the important role the Association plays at McMaster.”