Peru, Nebraska - Peru State College hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, March 22, to celebrate the historic Project ROAR capital campaign. The ceremony took place in the field where the 65,000 square foot dome will be. Construction will begin this spring and the facility will be in use by the start of the fall term in 2024.

Speakers at the ceremony included Peru State College Foundation Interim Director, Ted Harshbarger, Dr. Michael Evans, President of Peru State College, and Dr. Paul Turman, Nebraska State College System Chancellor.

President Michael Evans stated, “These shovels represent a lot of hard work, complex planning, and wonderful creativity, all of which is needed to transform this space. By breaking ground right here, we will convert this empty expanse into facilities that will support, energize, and rally our teams, and all our students for decades to come.”

Chancellor Dr. Paul Turman thanked Dr. Michael Evans for his leadership of Peru State College. “You have done a masterful job managing the project design to save costs and develop a plan for phasing the project over two years while additional funds are raised,” said Turman. Project ROAR was made possible by LB384 in 2021 which provides annual state appropriations through 2040 to support and pay off the bonds for the project. The recent dramatic increase in construction costs have made it necessary to rely on donations to make the project possible.

Project ROAR represents the first construction of all-new buildings at Peru State since 1980. With a $15 million estimated cost, Project ROAR is the largest construction project, both in terms of cost and square footage - in the more than 155-year history of Peru State.

The Peru State College Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation whose sole mission is to support Peru State College through receipt and distribution of charitable gifts to support the College. Gifts to Project ROAR can be made online at https://bit.ly/PSCProjectROAR or by check made out and mailed to: Peru State College Foundation, Project ROAR, PO Box 10, Peru, NE 68421-0010. Questions can be directed to Ted Harshbarger at the Foundation, 402-872-2304 or tharshbarger@peru.edu.