Building Description

The three-story, brick structure was originally built as the student union. It is the product of the loyalty and fundraising genius of the students of that era. The fundraising began with a penny carnival and culminated with a pledge of self-assessed student fees to repay bonds that were matched by the Federal Public Works Administration for $150,000.

Named for former university president Charles Pugsley, also an assistant secretary of agriculture during the Harding Administration, the union was known for The Jungle, a cafeteria with brightly painted foliage on the walls. Pugsley is also home to the Christy Ballroom, a 1959 addition. In 1973, the new University Student Union was built in the center of campus.