Nearly 1,000 students, alumni, faculty and staff swing danced into the night at the Millennium Ball Saturday to celebrate the opening of the new engineering building, Stanley and Helen Howe Hall.

A live swing band, decorative lighting, swing dancing lessons and cross-generational interaction highlighted the evening.

“I think it was just fantastic to see the students, faculty, staff and alumni interacting,” said College of Engineering Dean James Melsa.

The facility’s namesakes, Stanley and Helen Howe, who made a $6 million donation to the project, had a wonderful time at the ball, said Pam Reinig, engineering communications manager.

“[The Howes] thoroughly enjoyed sitting at their table and watching the young people dance and have a good time,” Reinig said.

Melsa said he also was pleasantly surprised to see so many of the students had put forth the effort to wear tuxedos to the ball.

Beyond the formal attire and slick dancing, the band and decorations were praised by many. “It was nice to have the band play for extended periods of time,” said John Lystig, senior in industrial engineering.

The Omaha-based Prairie Cats kept the crowd moving throughout the evening with lots of their own music and some well-recognized covers.

Completing the mood were the lights, from the stage lights for the band to the colored lights on the dance floor to the 3-D stars projected on the walls and ceiling. They created an atmosphere similar to that of a ballroom, not an engineering building.

“They had it decorated really cool. The lights were awesome,” said Leah Frerichs, sophomore in engineering.

In honor of the millennium theme, a ball of lights, in line with the Times Square tradition, was “dropped” at midnight.

Many people stayed until that point in the ball, and Reinig said she was amazed at the number of students who stayed late into the evening.

“It was probably one of the largest alcohol-free events on campus in a very long time. So people who think students can’t or won’t have fun without alcohol should have been there [Saturday] night,” she said.

The Millennium Ball was the end of a day spent celebrating Howe Hall that started with the official dedication ceremony on Saturday morning.

A crowd of about 500 people gathered to hear speeches by several people, including Melsa, Stanley and Helen Howe, ISU President Martin Jischke, President of the Board of Regents Owen Newlin, ISU Foundation President Tom Mitchell and Engineering Student Council President Ben Golding.

Melsa said the completion of Howe Hall is a dream come true for ISU’s engineering departments. “Many called it an impossible dream; now we call it Howe Hall,” he said. “[Howe Hall] is a model that emphasizes learning rather than teaching.”

Stanley Howe also praised the building that will carry his name.

“The technology that is here will be truly impressive,” he said, citing the ultrasonic testing pool, the new virtual reality laboratory and the wind tunnel.

Newlin commended the Howes for their support of the university.

“No achievement can occur without strong leadership like that of the Howes,” he said.

After the dedication, engineering students conducted tours of the building and gave demonstrations of its facilities.