POCATELLO — Former Idaho State University president Richard L. Bowen and first lady Connie Smith Bowen have been immortalized on the university’s Pocatello campus, with their names now affixed on a sign above the Rendezvous Center.
The sign, which labels the building the “Richard L. Bowen and Connie S. Bowen Rendezvous Center,” was recently installed. A dedication event was held last week to dedicate the building in the Bowens’ honor.
Richard served as ISU president from 1985 to 2005, and ISU described Connie as a “dedicated first lady whose efforts greatly enhanced the university.”
“During their two decades at Idaho State, the Bowens cultivated important community relationships, enhanced long-standing campus traditions and brought several projects to completion, including the Stephens Performing Arts Center and Rendezvous Center,” Idaho State said in a statement.
Elizabeth Bowen, the daughter of Richard and Connie, attended the dedication event on Friday in Pocatello. Elizabeth said her family is grateful for the honor.
“We’re really honored and I’m just so proud of my parents,” she said. “When we found out, we were really surprised and really humbled. My parents were just so grateful because we had such good years in Pocatello. I think we’ll always feel like we got far more from the university than we gave, but it’s nice to know that people really appreciate what my parents did there.”
Connie passed away in November of 2021, but Elizabeth said her mother was aware that a plan to dedicate the building in their honor was in the works.
“It makes me happy” that she knew about it, Elizabeth said of her mom.
“When my dad took over at ISU, there were some parts of the university that were in danger of losing their accreditation and by the time he left, I think enrollment had tripled and the university was in a really great place,” Elizabeth said. “That just makes us all very proud.”
Richard, who moved to Boise with Connie after his retirement in 2005, traveled to Pocatello last week for the dedication. Richard told the Idaho State Journal he is “elated, appreciative and humbled” by the building dedication.
When students and campus visitors see his and Connie’s names at the Rendezvous entrance, Richard said, he hopes they can “appreciate the facility.”
As for ISU’s future, Richard is optimistic the university will continue to see growth and provide “great service to the people of Idaho and beyond.”