New name for WSU lecture hall

PULLMAN - A lecture hall at Washington State University (WSU) has a new name, following a corporate donation.

The Spark Academic Innovation Hubs' lecture space is now known as the PACCAR Lecture Hall, WSU announced Wednesday.

"We are excited for the latest partnership with PACCAR to create opportunities for our faculty and students to access the very best technology and learning techniques," said WSU President Kirk Schulz.

The room is a 277 seat in-the-round format. Terms of the donation were not released.

Bellevue-based PACCAR is a design, manufacturing company supporting varied truck models built by Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF.

"The PACCAR Lecture Hall at the Spark Innovation Hub at WSU Pullman will enable students and faculty to engage and discuss many topics that will deliver benefits in a myriad of academic and commercial fields," said Mark Pigott, executive chairman of PACCAR.

The Spark Academic Innovation Hub is the WSU Pullman campus's newest and most technologically advanced instructional facilities.

PACCAR and WSU have partnered in the past, including a 2014 investment in the construction of WSU's 96,000-square foot PACCAR Environmental Technology Building, which was finished two years later.

"PACCAR's investment to establish the PACCAR Lecture Hall will help ensure WSU continues to push the boundaries for innovative educational methods and technologies in what is WSU's highest profile classroom setting," said Mike Connell, in a statement, WSU's acting vice president of advancement and CEO of the WSU Foundation.

The company also delivered two crimson and gray semi-trucks to the athletic department, one to be converted into a mobile Cougar kitchen for meal services brought to athletic facilities. The other to be used an equipment support truck for hauling equipment and other supplies to sports events.