St. Paul, Minn. – The Macalester College Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to rename the college’s guest house at 1644 Summit Avenue from the Hugh S. Alexander Alumni House to Briggs House, in honor of Mary Kay Briggs who managed the Alumni House from 2005 until she passed away in January 2016 after a long battle with cancer. 

Mary Kay was beloved by many at Macalester, especially by the many students she employed and befriended, and she came to embody the welcoming spirit on Macalester’s campus.

​The resolution of the Macalester College Board of Trustees says, in part:

Mary Kay Briggs managed the Hugh S. Alexander Alumni House at Macalester College from June 2005 to January 2016 and welcomed countless guests from around the world with her warmth and hospitality. She supervised, mentored and encouraged, numerous Alumni House students. Countless Macalester staff and faculty learned to rely on her event expertise for hundreds of small and large events. She served as an enthusiastic ambassador for the college and surrounding community and represented the essence of Macalester’s mission and values.

It is with gratitude and in recognition of Mary Kay Briggs and her devotion to the entire Macalester College community that the Hugh S. Alexander Alumni House be renamed in her memory as Briggs HouseDated the ninth day of March 2016.

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 2,138 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement. Learn more at macalester.edu.

March 9 2016

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