Oregon State University celebrated Weatherford Hall's 80th birthday and the innovative new program inside the building during a banquet Saturday night.

The iconic structure is about more than its architecture, said university President Ed Ray.

"When we think of special places, we think about the activities that go on within them and the people," he said.

Currently, Weatherford Hall is home to nearly 300 students in the Austin Entrepreneurship Program, which also celebrated its fifth anniversary Saturday.

Program Director Christopher Klemm said a new breed of student entrepreneur is emerging that doesn't care solely about wealth.

"Social good and environmental impact are powerful drivers of entrepreneurship," he said. Making money is still a goal, but many students want to do so in a socially conscious way.

Weatherford Hall, part of OSU's new historic district, is the only residential facility at OSU to be named a LEED "green" building, and the plaque for that honor was unveiled Saturday.

More than 150 people were at the celebration in the Club Level of Reser Stadium, and the Austin Entrepreneurship Program also presented its first annual Entrepreneurs and Innovators Awards.

The recipients were:

• Ken and Joan Austin, the founders of Austin Dental Equipment Company, and the couple who provided founding support for the Austin Entrepreneurship Program and the Austin Family Business Program. Ken Austin also was the first Benny Beaver.

• Kyle Doyel, an alumnus who created the Kyzen Corporation of Nashville, Tenn., a provider of chemicals and processes for precision cleaning in high-technology manufacturing environments.

• Dick Fosbury, the 1968 Olympic gold medalist in the high jump. Fosbury, an OSU graduate, is the co-owner of Galena Engineering in Ketchum, Idaho.

• John Gardner, an OSU professor emeritus who founded ViewPlus Technologies. Gardner went blind mid-career in 1988, and created a way to present diagrams and other illustrations to those without sight.

• Kaichang Li, an associate professor in the College of Forestry, who developed a wood adhesive based on the way mussels attach themselves to rocks and other substances.

The night included plenty of facts about Weatherford Hall, such as the colorful painted dorm room doors, highly personalized living spaces and the quirky spirit of residents.

The building was closed in 1994 because it was decaying, but it underwent a $20 million renovation and reopened in 2004 as the home for the Austin Entrepreneurship Program.

Toledo High School math teacher Randy Wiese, a 1990 graduate of OSU, attended the event because he lived in Weatherford Hall for three years. "The Weatherford way is distinctly true," he said. "Very fond memories."

And he still stays in touch with four friends from the residence hall. "We have a reunion every New Year's Eve, New Year's Day," he said.

A huge birthday cake in the shape of Weatherford Hall was part of the celebration, and it was transported to Weatherford Hall so students could eat it afterward.

Bahar Shakeri, a senior Weatherford resident and Austin Entrepreneurship Program student, joked that she was going to cut out a piece of cake from her floor.

Freshman Alex Moty noted the pieces of the structure that seemed to be made out of molded, sugary frosting. "I'm going to eat the railings. That looks pretty tasty to me," he said.

Some students were disappointed to discover that only the top of the tower, the building roofs and the lawn were made of cake, however.

Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.