Citadel honors Bastin Hall donors with ribbon-cutting ceremony

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The Citadel’s newest academic facility, Bastin Hall, opened for classes in January, but the building was made possible by a $6 million donation from a class of 1965 alumnus and his wife.

To celebrate Rick and Mary Lee Bastin, The Citadel Foundation recognized the couple with a small ribbon cutting ceremony on May 14.

“I was a Mercedes dealer, and the CEO of Mercedes used to preach to us: ‘We need to amaze and delight our customers,’” Rick Bastin said during the ceremony. “Well, this building amazes and delights me, and it’s beyond my greatest dreams that it would come out this well.”

The couple are the primary donors for the Bastin Hall, located on Hagood Avenue near the football stadium, The Citadel said in a news release. The building will serve as the new home of the Tommy and Victoria Baker School of Business.

The mission of the business school, accredited by AACSB International, is to develop innovative leaders of principle, The Citadel said.

In addition to the Bastins, more than 50 other individuals, families, businesses and Citadel classes offered substantial donations needed to make the vision for Bastin Hall a reality through the foundation. In total, more than 450 donors contributed to the project at some level.

Plaques throughout Bastin Hall recognize the areas funded by individual gifts, such as the Darby Family Lobby, in recognition of the Georgia and John Darby Family, ’85; the Jimmy Kerr, ’65, and Bunny Kerr Family Rooftop Terrace; and the Class of 1977 Great Lawn.

“It’s going to last — it’s not something that we did for one year. It was a project, and everyone will get the benefit of it. The building will be here for a long time,” Mary Lee Bastin said at the ceremony. “We’ve been coming here forever, and the place has really grown. The quality of the students is just magnificent."