At 11:30 Saturday morning, the atrium of Baker University Center was filled with the sounds of cheers, claps and the snipping of scores of scissors.
For the grand opening of the center, students from every Ohio county, every state and every country represented on campus were given the opportunity to cut the green ribbon that circled the third-, fourth- and fifth-floor atrium.
Sophomore Noah Cline, from Jackson County, said he enjoyed being involved in a historic event but that he had another motive for participating.
“I really wanted the commemorative scissors,” he said.Sophomore Kathleen Kuznik, from New York, also wanted the scissors and said she appreciated the center’s role on campus.
“I thought it would be really cool to be part of something really important,” Kuznik said.
Ohio University President Roderick McDavis dedicated the center to the memory of John Calhoun Baker, the university’s 14th president who is considered to be the father of the modern OU.
Baker understood the importance of a central student center, McDavis said, adding that the new Baker Center will serve a similar purpose.
“It was created with the most deliberate of intentions — to bring together students, faculty, staff, alumni and Athens community members,” he said. “This is the heart of our vibrant, spirited community.” Universal message
Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, visitors to the center moved to the first floor for the dedication of the terrazzo art installation, which depicts scenes from Poindexter Village, a housing development in Columbus.
McDavis thanked artist Aminah Robinson for her contribution to OU and the international community.
“We are forever indebted to her for contributing some of her work to underscore the importance we place on diversity,” he said.
The images come from Robinson’s book, A Street Called Home, and the characters represent her interpretations of real people from Poindexter Village. For example, there is a design marked “Chickenfoot Woman” that portrays a woman who sold fried chicken feet on the street.
The images in the terrazzo are universal, Robinson said, adding that they are meant to inspire people to go back to their communities and learn from their elders.
“My work is specifically made for future generations,” she said. “The work continues through our youth.”
Robinson said the terrazzo is a new design and is the first time her work has been translated on such a large scale.
The university dedicated about $166,000 to the arts in the university center, according to the University Center Project budget.Coordinating a meal
Administrators also announced the winning name for the university center’s food court, now known as West 82.
Freshman Diana Craun won the food court’s naming contest with her submission of a coordinate point of the building. Latitude 39, a fine-dining restaurant, is also on the first floor.
Craun said she had to do some research to find the exact coordinate.
“I Wikipediaed it,” she said.
Craun won a $250 gift card to the center and said she plans to spend it on apparel from Bobcat Essentials and dinner for her friends at Latitude 39.
Also dedicated this morning was the Honors Collegium on the fourth floor. The lounge is meant to honor the academic community and achievements at OU, said Ann Fidler, dean of the Honors Tutorial College.
The Phi Beta Kappa clock located outside the fourth-floor entrance, named for the nation’s oldest college honor society, also was dedicated.
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