On the morning of Friday, August 26, Trinity University celebrated the grand opening of Beneski Parkway, a new main entrance to the campus from Hildebrand Avenue. After valet golf cart service up the winding parkway, trustees, faculty, staff, and students gathered in front of the new entrance of campus. General James T. Hill ’68, member of the Board of Trustees, Vanessa Beasley, Ph.D., Trinity president, and Ted Beneski P’11, P’14, vice-chair of the Board of Trustees, gave commemorative speeches beneath a hanging Beneski Parkway road sign. The ceremony concluded with Ted and Laurie Beneski cutting the garland ribbon, officially opening Beneski Parkway to all. Afterwards, guests retired to the Laurie Auditorium balcony for a reception.
“It’s been said that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression,” Beasley says. “That’s certainly true for me as I begin my time at Trinity, but it’s also true for our campus. The Beneski Parkway is now Trinity’s first impression. Indeed, it is the physical gateway to our beautiful campus.”
Ted Beneski and President Vanessa Beasley shook hands while trading off between their commemorative speeches.
Beneski Parkway was made possible by the generous $3 million gift from Ted and Laurie Beneski, parents of alumni Jeffrey ’11 and David ’14. Ted and Laurie’s connection to Trinity developed as they navigated the college experience with their sons. They joined the Parent Council, co-chairing the group in 2012, and encouraged greater partnerships with parents to support the University’s mission. For the last decade, Ted has served on Trinity’s Board of Trustees and is the current vice-chair and chair-elect. The Beneskis have supported Trinity in the past by giving to scholarship funds, the construction of the Center for the Sciences and Innovation, and the president’s discretionary fund, which allows the University to quickly and thoughtfully respond to urgent needs.
Ted and Laurie Beneski posed in front of the fruit sculpture displaying the Beneski Parkway logo at the reception.
“Trinity’s ambitions are bold,” Ted Beneski says, “and Laurie and I are proud to partner with the University on the path to achieving them. We chose to support Beneski Parkway because it represents the warm welcome we personally felt at Trinity when we first arrived in 2007 and the promise of the road ahead.”
This new Hildebrand entrance is a key part of the University’s Campus Master Plan, developed in a 2017 collaboration with Page, a Texas architecture firm with history and expertise in O’Neil Ford architecture. The new street and grand entrance connect the City Vista apartments to campus and serve as a welcoming beacon for current and prospective students and their families, faculty, staff, alumni, and the broader San Antonio community.
President Vanessa Beasley joined the Beneskis in cutting the garland ribbon.
“It’s true that we’re building something special here at Trinity,” Beasley says. “As I meet people, I’m struck by their common belief that our University is at an inflection point. Today’s ribbon cutting is a tangible reminder of that. Thank you, Ted and Laurie, for being leaders at this moment in Trinity’s history.”
Check out this photo gallery to revisit this exciting moment in Trinity’s history.
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