Donor Funded New Student Center at Northwest College

Raising donations for a brand-new student center at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, started in 2016. Over nine years, many patrons came forward to support the project, which means Northwest College needed a way to display many donor names in the new facility. The center opened debt-free thanks to generous donations from the community.

Northwest College, along with designers Hord Coplan Macht (HCM) and Groathouse Construction, asked Latitude for a creative way to incorporate donor recognition displays throughout the student center. We were thrilled to answer the call.

The Student Center Space

The Northwest College Student Center opened a 38,606-square-foot student center in January 2025. The new building features a modern dining hall, study areas, offices for resident life, campus security, and student success, an area for student clubs and a multi-purpose community meeting room.

The student center also provides space for the NWC Outdoor Education program with an academic lab and climbing wall, plus a recreational equipment co-op for students and community members.

The signage for these spaces used a direct digitally printed wood pattern that matched the wood used throughout the facility. Using this technique, we could directly match the existing wood, print the dimensional ADA copy and braille in the same pass, and keep the budget much lower than using real wood and applied lettering. We have significantly invested in our in-house digital printers and the education of our team to master this technology. It shows on projects like these.

Levels of Recognition Displays

As the architect concepted the look and feel of the donor recognition displays, Latitude assisted with fabrication recommendations and budgeting. It was important to the design team and NWC to use wood finishes that would mimic the surrounding landscape of the northern Wyoming campus. But they also needed plenty of room to add donor names to the display as needed.

Latitude and HCM came up with a solution to blend names throughout the facility and keep all displays dynamic. Donor names were sorted into groups based on the donation amount. The largest donors received a spot on a wood donor wall, which cascades down the student center’s main staircase.

Other donors had their names incorporated into distraction film for the conference room glass doors, which provided some privacy for those rooms while allowing the space to feel open and light.

Bringing the Concept to Life

Once the ideation and budgeting stage was finished, NWC and HMC put our team in the driver’s seat to create and install the donor recognition signage.

Our in-house custom millworker created the stunning wood donor panels. Once each panel was finished, the Latitude assembly team applied acrylic donor names. On-site installation took place over two days leading up to the student center’s open house event.

Just after the event, our NWC clients reached out to us. “We had our Grand Opening yesterday and were happy to showcase our donor generosity with your signs!"

This sign project added both form and function to the Northwest College Student Center. We love the chance to recognize donors and make our clients happy while doing it.

Have Questions About This Project?

Connect with us today.

Or find your expert for any questions on incorporating creative signage in your building project.