The grand opening of Howard Payne University’s Newbury Family Welcome Center has been scheduled for Thursday, May 5, featuring self-guided tours from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. The public is invited and no R.S.V.P. is required.

The nearly 8,000-square-foot facility will serve as an inviting “front door” to HPU’s campus and help form the first impression of the university for future students. The building, the first new construction on the HPU campus in more than 20 years, will house offices for admissions personnel and provide spaces for meetings and events.

Dr. Cory Hines, HPU president, expressed his eagerness to open the facility to the public.

“On behalf of the entire Howard Payne University family, I extend an invitation to celebrate with us and get an up-close view of this wonderful new facility,” said Dr. Hines. “The Newbury Family Welcome Center is an exciting, much-needed feature of our campus and we look forward to May 5 with great anticipation.”

The facility is named for the family of Dr. Don Newbury, a 1961 graduate of HPU, president of the university from 1985 to 1997 and current chancellor. The welcome center is located at the intersection of Austin and Center Avenues on the historic former site of Old Main, the university’s original building, which was destroyed by fire in 1984.

For more information about Howard Payne University, visit www.hputx.edu.