Opening of Wadley Reading Center is August 28 at NSU

(Tahlequah, Okla.)--An opening ceremony is planned for Northeastern State University's Capitola Cappi Wadley Center for Reading and Technology on August 28 at 4 p.m. in Bagley Hall.

Housed on Bagley's third floor, the Wadley Center offers a clinic where children can overcome reading deficiencies through tutoring.

"The ceremony is open to the public, though we are asking for RSVPs," said Anita Thompson, development and grants officer for the College of Education. "President Steve Turner and Gregg Wadley will speak. We will cut the ribbon and have people tour the facility to learn more about the programs we offer and others we hope to launch soon."

Gregg Wadley, Northeastern class of 1969, and his wife, Dr. Betsy Brackett, pledged $1 million in December 2009 in honor of Wadleys mother, Cappitola Cappi Wadley, who passed away in 2005. The gift was the first million-dollar donation in NSU's history.

The facility is directed by Dr. Tobi Thompson, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction.

Construction of the facility began on July 11, 2011. The clinical design allows individual and small-group tutoring. There are also collaborative learning areas, a computer lab, classrooms and a workroom.

"The Wadley Center will benefit the university as well as those who utilize its tutoring and family literacy services," Anita Thompson said. "By working with individual children, our teacher candidates in the College of Education can hone their literacy instruction skills."

While one-on-one instruction programs are focused on children, Thompson said NSU's College of Education wants to include services for adults in the future. There is a waiting list, but Thompson said those seeking literacy tutors should still call the center. Family literacy nights will be offered beginning in late October.

"The literacy nights are still being planned, but they will bring families here to have a good time and show children how much fun reading can be," Anita Thompson said. "We will have crafts, food and games. We will also teach parents what to look for in children who are having difficulty reading, and how to help them."

She added that donations to the center are still welcome.

"The center will always need donor support," she said. "We will require funds to maintain the facility, buy children's books and make technology upgrades as they become available."

An RSVP is requested to attend the center's opening ceremony. An RSVP can be sent to Anita Thompson at hylton@nsuok.edu, or call 918-444-3751. To contact the Wadley Center call 918-444-3313.