NIU’s Campus Life Building will be officially renamed in honor of former university president John G. Peters at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

The ceremony will be open to the public and free parking will be available at the building’s parking lot, according to the university’s event page.

Located at 545 Lucinda Avenue, the ceremony for Peters Campus Life Building will commemorate Peters’ tenure at NIU and his support for the student services located in the building’s offices, according to a news release from the university.

“One of the reasons why the Campus Life Building makes so much sense to name in his (Peters) honor is that he was incredibly supportive of the programs that are in the building,” said NIU chief of staff Matthew Streb.

President Peters sought to uplift student services like the Center for Student Assistance and the Disability Resource Center during his time as president, Streb said.

Peters served as president of NIU for 13 years, from 2000 to 2013. During his time as president, Peters was often referred to as the “student’s president” due to his fondness for stopping and talking to students on campus throughout the years, Streb said.

“When he would walk across campus, he loved interacting with the students,” Streb said. “It would be difficult sometimes to get him through a large crowd of students when he’d stop to talk to all of them.”

Peters was also president during the events of the Feb. 14, 2008 shooting that occurred at NIU.

“He handled the aftermath of February 14th so well. That was something our current students at the time really felt a sense of connection to him,” Streb said. “The Center for Student Assistance really is an outgrowth of an office that he created in the aftermath of February 14th to help students.”

Peters Campus Life Building will continue its naming transition for signage and printed materials throughout the rest of the academic year, according to a news release from the university.