MANKATO — Upon meeting the woman who would eventually bear the name of Minnesota State’s newest residence hall, Mehr Jay Shahidi remembers thinking:

“She has something special.”

At the time of their first meeting, Shahidi was a member of MSU’s Student Senate in 1974. He and other student senators were interviewing candidates for MSU’s vacant presidency, and Margaret Preska was among them.

As it turned out, Preska was not given the job that year. Doug Moore got the position instead and appointed Preska to be vice president of Academic Affairs.

Preska, however, did get the president’s job in 1979, and served in that role until 1992.

And Shahidi said he knew all along that she would be a good one.

“She proved me right. ... Bright, witty, passionate and committed — she demonstrated she was exceptional.”

For all that, the Margaret R. Preska Residence Community was formally christened before a large crowd in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center on Thursday. Preska and several members of her family were in attendance.

Mankato Rep. Kathy Brynaert called her a “powerful intellect” and a “person of warmth and humor.”

President Richard Davenport credited her for expanding the campus, increasing enrollment, adding programs and foreseeing the need for a university foundation. He thanked her for her mentorship and said MSU is “deeply honored” to name a facility after her.

When Preska approached the podium to give her remarks, she received an extended ovation.

“In many ways,” she said, “a president is like a building. They both provide an environment within which people can do their work.”

 During Preska’s tenure, enrollment increased 43 percent to more than 16,500 students. She raised private funds to build the Wiecking Annex, Pennington Hall and the Alumni and Foundation Building as well as Andreas Observatory and the Ostrander Bell Tower.

She oversaw MSU’s move from downtown Mankato to the hilltop area in 1979 and played a role in starting several new programs, including MSU’s first engineering program.

Perhaps most importantly, Davenport said, she foresaw the need for public colleges to have vehicles for raising private funds.

“She came up with the big idea,” Davenport said. “It was kind of a novel concept at the time.”

The four-story nearly $24 million Margaret Preska residence hall remains under construction and is slated for completion by the fall 2012.

The 118,000-square-foot facility will accommodate 300 students in rooms with new-age amenities such as climate control, sound-resistant walls, upholstered office chairs and private bathrooms. The first floor will feature classrooms, leisure spaces and common areas.