Juniata College performing arts facility rededicated, honoring donor generosity

by Jodie Dello Stritto

Juniata College celebrated Alumni Weekend 2024, welcoming decades of graduates back to campus with their partners and families. On Saturday, June 8, attendees gathered for the rededication of the newly renovated Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts.  

Alumni giving, including an estate gift from Barry J. Halbritter and Marlene R. Halbritter, who met and graduated from Juniata in the 1960s, helped to make the latest upgrades possible and will provide funding for future upkeep and enhancements. The facility was dedicated to honor the Halbritters in 2005. Recent improvements have added practice rooms, new technology and other amenities.  

“The money will be there for students long after we are gone, whether it be for choir or instrumental or even a music major,” Barry told the Altoona Mirror in 2018. 

The Halbritters’ business, Mid-State Tool & Supply, Inc., in Altoona, is a national and international warehouse distributor of tools, equipment and supplies for automotive and industrial markets.  

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