USD University Center Dedicated to Benefactors Ernest, Jean Hahn

The University Center at the University of San Diego campus--where college services including the student cafeteria, faculty and staff lounge, and the office of student affairs make their home--was dedicated Friday in the name of two benefactors.

The center, built for $11 million three years ago, was renamed the Ernest and Jean Hahn University Center, a USD spokesman said.

To get the center built, Ernest Hahn, a seven-year member of USD’s Board of Trustees, raised $7 million, included his own contributions. The remaining $4 million was financed with state bonds, said John Nunes, a USD spokesman.

Hahn also has helped raise $24.7 million, within a two-year span, through the University’s Capital Campaign Executive Committee.

The capital campaign, expected to last another two years, should reach its $47.5-million goal, school officials said. When it does, $31 million will go toward faculty endowments and student scholarships. “The aim is to improve and maintain the quality of faculty and students,” Nunes said.

Recently, $6 million has been spent on expanding and remodeling the old law library, now the new Legal Research Center, which is expected to be completed next summer.