SU Centennial Celebration Continues with Centennial Tree Dedication
By SU Public Relations
SALISBURY, MD---¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ continued its SU Centennial celebration, marking the institution’s 100th anniversary, by paying homage to a tradition popular on campus from the 1920s through the 1950s: a tree planting.
On Arbor Day, SU officials dedicated the new SU Centennial Tree, a bur oak donated by alumnus Richard A. Givens II ’75, ’76. Standing in front of the campus’ first building, Holloway Hall, the tree is part of the University’s Glenda Chatham Clarke Arboretum. There, it joins several Maryland “champion” trees, representing the largest of their species in the state.
While the Centennial Tree is not a state champion — yet — it represents much more than most newly planted hardwoods.
“One hundred years ago, our founders stood on this very ground filled with hope—celebrating not what was, but what could be,” said SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre during the dedication. “They imagined a university that would open doors, transform lives, and serve as a cornerstone for this community.
“Today, we stand in that same spirit. But we are not only celebrating possibility — we are celebrating proof. Proof of what vision, commitment, and community can build over a century.”
She also thanked Givens for his generosity, calling the tree “a gift that will grow alongside this University—one that will provide shade, beauty, and inspiration for generations of students to come.”
She concluded: “Just as [SU’s] founders planted the seeds of this University a century ago, we now plant this tree as a symbol of the next 100 years. Years that will bring new ideas, new challenges, and new opportunities, but will always be guided by the same spirit of connection and purpose that brought us here today.
“May this tree grow strong, just as ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has, and may it serve as a reminder to future generations that they are part of something enduring, something meaningful, and something that will continue to bring people together for centuries to come.”
Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at www.salisbury.edu.