William Ransom Wood

During his tenure as president and afterward, he wrote books of poetry which were published by the University of Alaska Foundation.

Dr. Wood strongly supported Project Chariot, which was a proposal by Edward Teller to use nuclear bombs to create a harbor at Cape Thompson.

Two University of Alaska scientists who publicly opposed this project, William Pruitt and Leslie Viereck, were forced out of their jobs by Wood's administration.

However, in 1980, state Rep. Brian Rogers succeeded in passing a legislative appropriation to take over the remainder of the debt payments for the center.

The name of the building was changed before construction was complete to honor Dr. Wood, which caused some controversy among the student body of the time.

The center features a ballroom and adjoining conference rooms, an eight-lane bowling alley, six pool tables, a darkroom, a multilevel lounge, a pub, coffee and espresso café, a pizza place, a large grill and food court, and an inspirational “staircase to nowhere."