Morningside College will dedicate its new Col. Bud Day Center for Civic Engagement during a public ceremony at 7 p.m. April 21 on the second floor of the Hickman-Johnson-Furrow Learning Center on the college’s campus.

Morningside College will dedicate its new Col. Bud Day Center for Civic Engagement during a public ceremony at 7 p.m. April 21 on the second floor of the Hickman-Johnson-Furrow Learning Center on the college’s campus.

Named in honor of one of America’s most highly decorated servicemen and a 1950 Morningside graduate, the Col. Bud Day Center for Civic Engagement will focus on activities related to civic awareness and citizenship on campus and the Sioux City area. The center is affiliated with Morningside College’s Department of Economics, Political Science and Sociology.

“Our vision is for the center to become known nationally for its nonpartisan efforts to encourage civic involvement and interest in the political process,” said Morningside President John Reynders. “We are grateful that Colonel Day’s family agreed to let us name the center after him and are pleased they will join us for the dedication ceremony.”

Reynders also announced that Morningside professor Sam Clovis will serve as the center’s director.

Day saw active military duty during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, which included more than five years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. He received nearly 70 medals and awards as well as the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest combat military award, and the Air Force Cross, the highest combat award for airmen. Day died in 2013.