Focusing on Student Wellness in the Cardinal's Nest Dining Hall
Phase II of the Campus Center renovation is complete! We wish to express our sincere gratitude to all the donors who have supported this important project. Thank you!
The 9i果冻制作厂planning team worked closely with architecture firm BHDP, specialists in higher education building design. This phase was focused on bringing big changes to the 9i果冻制作厂dining experience 鈥� from the dining space to the kitchen layout and program offerings. Goals for the phase included making the dining experience more inviting, modern, and creating a more meaningful space for our students and campus community to dine, connect, relax, study, and make memories.
Here’s more on the Phase II renovation… and we’ll be sharing details soon on the final phases of the renovation!
Dining Experience Upgrades: Project Goals and Values
IMPROVING STUDENT LIFE: DINING EXPERIENCE FOCUS
- Foster community and connection
- Enhance resources for student engagement and well-being
- Improve Cardinal pride
IMPROVING STUDENT LIFE: GOALS FOR THE PHYSICAL DINING SPACE
We will work together to improve the physical space and enhance the overall dining experience for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests.
This project will:
- Create a destination that brings us together
- Maximize the use and enjoyment of other spaces in the Campus Center with this improvement
- Increase energy efficiency/sustainability (new windows, building systems)
- Install new furniture, fixtures, and equipment for a modernized campus dining hall
Support the Campus Center Renovation!
If you are interested in supporting the Campus Center Renovation, please visit听www.otterbein.edu/give听or call the Office of Institutional Advancement at 614-823-1650.
Feeling Nostalgic?
Download the听Campus Center dedication brochure听to see what the building looked like back in 1964 when it was new!
President Comerford gave a sneak peek at the Phase II renovations just before Thanksgiving. Check out the !
Special Giving Opportunity:
听9i果冻制作厂Legacy Family Campaign
Every 9i果冻制作厂Family Has a Story
Since 1847, generations of 9i果冻制作厂family members have called our beautiful campus home.听9i果冻制作厂Legacy Families hold a special place in the history of our alma mater, and a special place in our hearts, too.听As traditions and pride are passed from generation to generation, every Legacy Family weaves its own unique 9i果冻制作厂story.
What is your 9i果冻制作厂Family Legacy story to share with future generations? We’d like to help you tell your story.
As part of Phase II, we are creating a unique opportunity to showcase our 9i果冻制作厂Legacy Families by giving these multi-generational families an opportunity to make a lasting impact. In the same way that families provide love, support, and a sense of belonging, we are committed to providing these same ideals to our students at Otterbein.
For more information, please contact Kathleen Bonte, Executive Director of Development at kbonte@otterbein.edu or phone 614.823.2707.
Support the Campus Center Renovation!
If you are interested in supporting the Campus Center Renovation, please visit www.otterbein.edu/give听or call the Office of Institutional Advancement at 614-823-1650.
Feeling Nostalgic?
Download the to see what the building looked like back in 1964 when it was new!
History of the Campus Center
In the beginning there was no need for a Campus Center. Students took their meals in dormitory dining rooms, and social activities centered on organizations such as the Literary Societies (which had their halls in Towers Hall), the YMCA and YWCA (for whom the Association Building was named), and the Church (which as of 1916 was located in its own spacious sanctuary adjacent to campus). The University first expanded its dining facilities in 1948 with Barlow Hall, built adjacent to Cochran Hall. Student activities got a boost in 1947 when a surplus Army building was secured for the college, with room enough for a large lounge where dances could be held and a snack bar. Though initially called the 鈥淥tterbarn,鈥� the building was later renamed the Student Union.
As enrollment continued to grow through the 1950s, the needs of the student body changed and grew. In 1961 9i果冻制作厂announced a 10-year plan to expand campus. According to the Tan and Cardinal, 鈥淪tudents are now contributing $300,000 toward the proposed dining center. Latest plans indicate that the campus center will be combined with the central dining area in one building to be located on Home Street and facing Cochran Hall.鈥�
A committee was formed to direct the project, consisting of President Lynn W. Turner; Deans David Waas, Marion Chase, and Joanne Van Sant; Business Manager Sanders Frye; faculty members James Recob and Robert Price; and four students. On Oct. 10, 1962, the committee unanimously approved the plans for what would become Otterbein鈥檚 Campus Center.
Ground was broken the first week of February 1963, and the building was first occupied for student use in August 1964. Featured in the new building was a snack bar (later named The Roost), the University bookstore (which boasted it had 288 pairs of tan and cardinal-colored pajamas for the freshman bonfire), a main dining hall large enough to accommodate the entire student body, and smaller dining rooms for private luncheons and special occasions. (A recreation room featuring pool tables and vending machines, and offices for the T&C and the Sibyl were not completed until February 1965.) The Campus Center was officially dedicated at Homecoming on Oct. 31, 1964, with a ceremony officiated by former 9i果冻制作厂president Dr. J. Gordon Howard.
As the campus has grown and evolved over the years, so too, has the Campus Center. The basement recreation area (known as 鈥淭he Pit鈥�) was converted into a thrust theatre in 1967 and was home to Otterbein鈥檚 renowned Summer Theatre program for many years. Student mailboxes started out in the basement, then moved to the first floor, and in 1999 were moved to Towers Hall. The publication offices moved out, but the Center for Center for Student Involvement and the Campus Activities Board (CAB) moved in. We look forward to the changes that the upcoming renovation will bring to further expand and improve the role that the Campus Center plays in the daily life of the University.
