College Dedicates Riggs Plaza Thursday, Oct. 9

Riggs Plaza

SHREVEPORT, La.—Centenary College of Louisiana will officially dedicate Riggs Memorial Plaza Thursday, Oct. 9 during the college's Board of Trustees Meeting beginning at 1 p.m. in the Centenary Quad. College President Kenneth L. Schwab will preside over the dedication.

Riggs Memorial Plaza is a campus beautification project that features a large fountain and waterfall, and landscaped gardens. It was made possible by Leonard Riggs Jr. '64, who generously designated part of his parent's estate to the larger plan of landscaping the quadrangle between Mickle Hall and Hamilton Hall as a garden space.

Leonard M. Riggs Sr., a landscape architect from Longview, Texas, worked with Dr. S. D. Morehead in preparing the major layout for the original campus beautification program and initiating improvements campus wide. His most well known project on campus was Crumley Gardens at the corner of Centenary Boulevard and Kings Highway, a site that continues to draw many visitors to campus when the azaleas are in bloom. He is also credited with bringing azaleas to this part of Louisiana.

"This project is representative of the love Leonard Riggs Sr., '28 had for the campus," said Dr. Kenneth L. Schwab, Centenary College President. "His long association with Centenary has spanned many decades and has had a lasting effect on the beauty of the campus."

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and is regularly rated as one of the top colleges in the South. In 2008 Centenary College celebrates 100 years in Shreveport and Bossier City.