The Cross Cultural Center
The Cross-Cultural Center (Tri-C) is in the “Brick Palace” located on the South side of campus. Founded by Patrick Coggins, PhD, the Tri-C represents the cornerstone of diversity and contributes to the inclusive campus community that Stetson espouses. It is more than another student space, but it is home for many Stetson students.
This “home” is fully equipped with a kitchen, dining room, reservable event space(s), an outdoor veranda for social gatherings, an indoor lounge and a customized foot washing station that accommodates students’ religious preparations before prayer in the second-floor prayer room.
The Brick Palace’s Journey From 1921 To 2023
The home was designed in 1921 by the late Judge James W. Perkins, a prominent local jurist, state legislator and citrus grower, and his wife, May S. Perkins. In 1950, Mrs. Perkins bequeathed the home to her niece Helen Louise Stoudenmire.
Mrs. Stoudemire, wife to C. Aubrey Stoudenmire ’39, College of Law graduate and prominent DeLand attorney, gifted the home to Stetson University in 1964.
Jack Stoudenmire Carter recalls visiting his grandmother as a child and has fond memories in the historic home with his siblings and other family members.
In 1966, the home was transformed into the counseling center under the direction of World War II veteran George Hood, PhD, former dean of Students.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the historic home became officially known as the “Brick Palace” by students who enjoyed hanging out in the basement recreation room.
Between 2006 and 2010, the Brick Palace was the Center for First Year Studies, led by Dean Leonard Nance. By late 2010, it was repurposed for the University Public Relations, which was later renamed University Marketing.
The dedication of the re-imagined Brick Palace marks the collective mission handed down from the Perkins family, the Stoudemire family and the Carter family to Stetson University’s family of students, who now carry the tradition of Stetson’s core values — personal growth, intellectual development and global citizenship —in relationship-rich ways for generations to come.