After several years of planning and construction, the new Baker University Center is slated to open a year from now.
We're finishing the building from the first floor up
said Richard Shultz, director of implementation in the Department of University Planning and Implementation. Construction will be completed Oct. 9 2006 he said, adding that furniture will be moved in September and faculty and administrators with offices in the center will begin moving in November.
In 2001, OU's Student Senate voted to fund two-thirds of the $60 million center with student fees, according to the Division of Student Affairs Web site, www.ohio.edu/universitycenter/timeline.cfm.
Students will not be charged a $60 quarterly fee until the building opens, said Richard Carpinelli, interim vice president for student affairs.
(The fee) will be in place for as long as we operate that center
he said.
Construction of the center has faced some obstacles. Since construction began in March 2004, the center has caught fire three times, the most recent of which occurred Sept. 15, according to a Sept. 16 Post article.
The cause of the fires was related to the method of the roofing installation, but a new, risk-free method is now being used, Carpinelli said.
(The fires) put us slightly behind
but the contractors have made up that time
said Timothy Hogan, interim director of Baker University Center.
A use for the current Baker Center has not yet been determined, Shultz said. OU's planning and implementation department is in the process of hiring a consultant to do a program study to determine uses for Baker, he said, adding that attaching the building to the Radio-Television Building or making it an addition to the College of Communication are possibilities.
The new Baker University Center will provide plentiful and convenient meeting and lounge space, Carpinelli said.
One of the things that we're getting here we don't currently have is lounge furniture
Hogan said.
Carpinelli agreed that the new center will better accommodate students, faculty and staff.
(The current center) has not been able to serve us well for probably the last ten years
he said.
The five-story center will link upper and lower campus, Carpinelli said. Main entrances are located on the first and fourth floors across from Bird Arena and on Court Street, respectively. Until the center opens, pedestrians must use the Richland Avenue bridge for this trek before the indoor pedestrian boulevard is completed, he said. The building will feature a 215-seat theater, escalators, parking lot and garage, transgender restrooms and a lactation room, Hogan said. The first floor of the center will house several food services, including a food court featuring different types of cuisine, he said. An 84-seat full-service restaurant with a service bar also will be on the first floor, Shultz said.
Several offices, including those for University Judiciaries, Career Services, Greek organizations and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Program Center will move into the center, and most student organizations will be located on the third floor, Shultz said.
While the center will bring a connectedness to campus, it is disappointing that the new space for the LGBT Program Center is an interior office, said Mickey Hart, coordinator of the LGBT center.
In terms of our space
it's definitely not everything we want
he said, adding that students are disappointed when they learn the office will not have any windows.
I'm extremely excited
said Thomas Korvas, director of Career Services. It's great for the university to have most of the offices in the Division of Student Affairs in one place.
A leadership center on the third floor will act as a resource area for student organizations and provide access to computer stations, telephones, fax machines, copiers and file cabinets, Hogan said, adding that organizations without office space can use the center for meetings.
The third floor will also feature a media wing housing the offices of ACRN, The Athena yearbook, Athens Video Works Productions and The Post, Hogan said.
Exact operating hours for the center have not been determined, but Hogan said he hopes it can be open from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.
The current Baker University Center will be known as the University Center after the new building opens, Shultz said.
