USC alumni group holds ‘topping’ for new center

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An 18-foot, 500-pound beam is being placed at the top of the new, privately funded University of South Carolina Alumni Center in a special ceremony in downtown Columbia.

The celebration of the completed framing for the building begins at 9 a.m. Thursday with remarks by President Harris Pastides, My Carolina Executive Director Jack Claypoole and My Carolina Alumni Association President Paula Harper Bethea.

The $26 million center is the first permanent home for the alumni association and is slated to open next summer. It will include a ballroom, conference spaces and an outdoor patio.