Conferences and Workshops Guide

By Jo McCulty The Ohio Union has maintained the same appearance since it opened in 1950.

New facility would elevate status of legendary Ohio Union

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

The foundation is being laid to return the Ohio Union to the glory days it once enjoyed when it served as a model for student unions nationwide.

An exhaustive feasibility study that is scheduled to be completed in June will recommend a new facility be built that will link to the Gateway project. Proposed features would include a lecture hall/theater that would open up into an outdoor amphitheater, a commuter lounge with wireless Internet technology and recreational activities like bowling, billiards and dancing that were once offered in the present facility. A redesigned Multicultural Center would become a focal point of the new facility to reflect the cultural values of the university.

The estimated $93 million building could be open in five years, if funding is secured and the program is approved, said Molly Ranz Calhoun, director of facilities for student affairs.

The feasibility team included Ohio Union staff and representatives from the University Architect's Office, and three student governments (USG, CGS and IPC). The study began in October 2002 and involved discussions with students, faculty and staff to determine if the current building was meeting their needs, and meetings with the architectural design firm of Moody Nolan to create a conceptual design for a new facility.

The team reviewed 42 design concepts and considered three options -- keeping the existing structure, keeping and adding to the existing building, or tearing down the existing structure and completely rebuilding -- before recommending the latter.

"From a cost perspective, the associate architect is conveying that there is not that much of a difference between renovation and building a new facility," Calhoun said.

The next phase will be to determine the financial package for a new building. The funding will come from existing capital improvement funds ($35 million is currently in an Ohio Union renovation fund), private donations and naming rights to areas of the building, said Ohio Union Director Tracy Stuck, named director two years ago when the university merged student activities and the union into one organization. Once these avenues are fully explored, if additional funding is still needed, the idea of a student fee will be visited, she said.

The Ohio Union has a diverse client base, comprised of students, university departments and the community. It is a frequent site for lectures such as the President and Provost's Diversity Lecture Series, and a convenient location for students and faculty to get together for informal interaction and refreshments. Admissions and Honors and Scholars programs frequently host recruitment events in its ballrooms.

"The Ohio Union is the first impression for a lot of potential students visiting Ohio State," Stuck said. "A new facility would make Ohio State more competitive as far as recruiting new students and serving current student organizations."

The first of its kind at a public university in the country, the union was a model facility when it opened in 1950. It included a table tennis room, a 16-lane bowling alley, and at one time had two guest room penthouses that were occupied by celebrities including Henry Kissinger and former presidents George Bush and Gerald Ford. However, as time passed the recreational and guest room spaces were converted to meeting rooms to generate more income.

The Ohio Union was considered the ideal student union until 15-20 years ago, Stuck said, when deferred maintenance issues began catching up with the aging facility.

She said the current building simply does not meet the needs of the students, faculty and staff of Ohio State. The building design does not offer enough meeting space for student organizations or services. To date, 243 student organizations use the Ohio Union; it is reserved nearly every night of the week for meetings and special events, with Tuesday through Thursday booked solid, she said. Since September, student groups have held 3,867 events; university offices and departments have held 1,152; and 6,514 total functions have occurred in the building.

Additionally, Stuck said the current structure is operating with many of the original mechanicals installed in 1950 that do not provide adequate heating, ventilation, air conditioning or plumbing; the building offers limited accessibility for people with disabilities; and technology is inadequate at best. In a wing of the building that houses 44 student organizations, only three offices have Internet capability, she said.

The new facility would offer flexible space for the changing needs of faculty, staff and students and would include wireless technology, distance learning studios and meeting rooms throughout, as well as a 24-hour restaurant (sports bar concept) and modern ballrooms. Expanded student services being discussed include satellite offices of financial aid, the registrar and Buck ID; a post office; bank/ATM; convenience store; art gallery; and baby-sitting services. The facility would interact with and complement University District businesses, Stuck said, and would provide a student connection between the new union, the Oval, and the new recreation facility.

"We really feel like we should be the hub for late night student activities, but we also need the activities to draw them in," Stuck said.

Renovations

Considering that a new facility is at least five years away, renovations are underway to make the Ohio Union more appealing to its client base.

The most exciting work is scheduled for this summer, when the two ballrooms will receive a cosmetic update. Plans call for removing outdated wood paneling and replacing drapes with motorized blinds. A new sound system has already been installed. The ballrooms can accommodate from 1,200-1,300 people.

"We're excited because there's really nowhere else on campus that can accommodate as many as our ballrooms," said Marie Hagen, event-planning coordinator.

As they remodel, the turquoise and purple color scheme in the carpet and furniture is being replaced with a spirited scarlet and gray.

To date, extensive renovation of the Ohio Union interior, including the basement and main lounge spaces has been completed in an effort to bring business back to the building. Concurrently, the staff has worked to make the Ohio Union more appealing as a meeting place by hiring professional event planners, investing money on training and emphasizing customer service, Hagen said.

"Room rental is up 30 percent from a year ago. We spent a lot of time getting people to like the Ohio Union again."

For details on the Ohio Union project, visit http://ohiounion.com/new/.

Following trends

The growing significance of student unions is evidenced by the fact that 65 colleges or universities across the nation are either building new structures or adding to current structures. Closer to home, four other institutions in Ohio are in the process of building or have recently built new student unions: Bowling Green State University, Ohio University, University of Akron and the University of Cincinnati.

How does the Ohio Union compare to other universities? At 220,000 square feet, the Ohio Union is the second smallest in the Big Ten -- the average is 302,000 square feet.

The Blackwell is focusing its efforts on university business.     By Jo McCulty

The Blackwell focuses on Ohio State

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

Now that the demand has been established and occupancy rates are pushing 70 percent, the Blackwell team credits much of this success to focusing on its stakeholders -- Ohio State employees and their guests.

"The bottom line is that we want our colleagues to feel like it is their hotel," said General Manager Doug Koyle.

Since getting off to a slow start after opening in June 2002, marketing initiatives and incentives like preferred guestroom rates for Ohio State-affiliated businesses are giving the Blackwell the edge it needs. The hotel topped the 65 percent occupancy mark recently and is expecting to do even better in June, Koyle said.

The executive education program at the Fisher College of Business creates a high demand for luncheons, dinners, meeting rooms, audio-visual equipment and receptions, Koyle said. Also popular are the banquet rooms, which are being used for a variety of events, from trade shows and gubernatorial debates to wedding receptions and social functions. And guests are reporting a positive experience.

When Bill Marras, professor of engineering began organizing a May 21-22 Conference on Musculoskeletal Disorder Research, he wanted to set the table so that it would be a first-class experience on all accounts. So he turned to the Blackwell to host the event -- which attracted 130 top engineers and scientists from around the world -- in their ballroom.

"We wanted to build the image that Ohio State is the place to conduct research, and that we are the center of the universe as far as this particular type of study," Marras said.

He ordered special ergonomic chairs to make seminar participants comfortable, and enlisted the Blackwell to prepare a special chef's table for an evening of pampering for conference presenters.

Apparently, the prestigious conference was a big hit.

"I'm still getting e-mails from the speakers and participants," Marras said. "Everybody has been very complimentary regarding the facilities, the environment and the program itself."

The Blackwell makes a great place to host a conference, meeting or a wedding.   Courtesy of the Blackwell

Bistro 2110

The restaurant at the Blackwell, which recently changed its name from 2110 to Bistro 2110 to reflect the bistro-style cuisine served up by chef Roger Garland, continues to enjoy a strong lunch business, Koyle said. Some new twists are being introduced to appeal to the Ohio State and business community as well. New features include:

• The "Blackwell Grab & Go" kicked off in late May. From 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays, Bistro 2110 staff fire up the grill on the patio on the east side of the Blackwell and serve up gourmet hamburgers, chicken and brats. A sandwich, side order and drink are $4.

• The Chef's Table is a large table in the middle of the dining room area that groups can reserve for working lunches.

• A series of business networking breakfasts are being developed that will bring in corporate CEOs and deans and administrators from Ohio State for informal discussions over breakfast. Koyle said the Blackwell and Fisher College are currently developing a list of guest speakers.

• The best news may be that Bistro 2110 offers a 20 percent discount on the total check for OSU employees on breakfast and dinner.

Remaining independent

One of the few independent hotels in the area, the Blackwell is managed through a special arrangement between the Fisher College of Business and the Office of Student Affairs. The management team now consists of Koyle and Michael George, managing director of the hotel. The university hopes to tap into George's more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, and more specifically his expertise in leading independent luxury hotels to capitalize on their uniqueness.

In a city with an abundance of hotels that all seem to blend into the skyline, George said the Blackwell stands out because it is a university-related business that also is an excellent place to host a conference, meeting or a wedding.

"There is not a more sophisticated product in Columbus for conferences and meetings," George said, adding that university-related business is a priority. "Eighty percent of our energies are university focused," he said.

Luxury amenities

The Blackwell also makes a nice place to stay when you are in need of stress relief. They have a 750 square-foot fitness center designed to support hotel guests that stay there, stocked with state-of-the-art cardiovascular and Nautilus equipment. Guests can access the secure room at any time.

The hotel has a business center, where guests can send a fax, make phone calls or, for those who may have left their laptop computer behind, check e-mail messages. Conference suites are located on each floor that provide business guests the flexibility to host a meeting or interview during the day, and an informal reception during the evening.

By Kevin Fitzsimons Business is booming since the Fawcett Center closed its hotel operations a year ago to focus on its conference and restaurant business.

Fawcett Center excels without hotel

It's a Wednesday in late May and the National Kidney Foundation is holding its state conference in Ohio State's Fawcett Center. Many are gathered outside the 500-seat auditorium, where a presentation just took place. Others line the main hallway where 18 vendors have set up tables. Some are in Oxley's Restaurant grabbing lunch.

All of which brings a smile to the face of M.A. Wimbush, the Fawcett Center's general manager.

"The whole lobby is full of people, the restaurant is starting to fill up … this is very typical of a weekday," Wimbush said. "Actually, it's usually busier in our meeting room space."

Nearly a year after closing its doors to hotel guests, the Fawcett Center is alive and well and profiting from its decision to close the 70-room hotel that opened with the conference center in 1970. Guest rooms on floors 6-10 were converted into offices for University Development and WOSU Stations last September.

Development's move from the first-floor east wing of the building opened up much-needed meeting space for the Fawcett Center.

So far, so good. This year, the Fawcett Center has seen a 100 percent increase in the number of wedding receptions compared to last year, and conference and meeting business has increased 5 percent, according to Steve Smith, director of business operations for OSU's Hospitality and Conference Services. Even with using the new east wing meeting rooms for only one-third of the year, the Fawcett Center's overall revenue is expected to increase by double digits when the fiscal year ends June 30, Smith said.

"There's been an overall increase in business this year, even with the Blackwell coming on board (at Ohio State)," Wimbush said. "And even with the (Lane Avenue) bridge being out, it's been steady, full-steam ahead."

Wimbush credits the Fawcett Center's current success to its unique amenities, reasonable prices, a hard-working staff that has experienced little turnover during the past two years, and cooperation among other Office of Student Affairs venues such as the Blackwell, Ohio Union, Schottenstein Center and the Drake Performance and Event Center.

Besides the auditorium, the full-service Oxley's Restaurant and the addition of five smaller meeting spaces along the east wing, the Fawcett Center includes a large ballroom and space for 12 meeting rooms that accommodate six to 400 people.

"Our auditorium is a huge marketing tool for us," Wimbush said. "It seats 500 people and is technologically equipped. Folks can grab a meal in our restaurant and head back to breakout sessions in our meeting rooms. I don't think there's any place in town where you can do that. I like to think we've competed and held our own in the marketplace very well."

And, "there's a close partnership in Student Affairs," Wimbush said. "Being able to work together helps us assist one another. We complement each other. Our price ranges are different, but it's not uncommon to see different venues working hand-in-hand behind the scenes. And there are a lot of partnerships not only in Student Affairs but with academic programs. I know it's very important to Diane Whitbeck (assistant vice president for student affairs who oversees the Fawcett Center) that we work closely with student groups. We do a lot with Residence Life, as far as training programs for RAs and student development."

Wimbush said the Fawcett Center staff is constantly working on improvements, whether to the food quality in Oxley's or "cosmetic" changes this year to the new meeting space in the east wing and throughout the facility.

"If you haven't seen us for a while, you need to check us out and I think you'll be surprised," he said. "I'm seeing new faces, be it for lunch or meetings or football Saturdays or before basketball games, which means we're doing something right."

Although not at the top of the campus renovation list, the Fawcett Center is likely to undergo a $3 million to $7 million facelift within two to three years, said Molly Ranz Calhoun, director of facilities for student affairs.

Ranz Calhoun said three variations of an agreed-upon renovation design have been developed. She doesn't expect funding to be secured for the project for at least two years. She said work could then be completed in a year.

"The design of the renovation won't change, but it varies in cost relative to what kind of technology we put in at what level and what the finishes will be -- marble vs. ceramic tile, wood vs. vinyl," Ranz Calhoun said. "But there will be major technological upgrades, a renovation to the restaurant, ADA upgrades, additional restrooms and a sprinkler system. We also plan to rework the east wing to create two 12- to 14-person board rooms and more flexible meeting space in the east wing."

Jane Fawcett Hoover, daughter of OSU's eighth president (1956-1972) and building namesake Novice G. Fawcett, continues to take an active role in the facility and is interested in spearheading fund-raising efforts for the renovation, in concert with the Office of Development, Ranz Calhoun said. She funded a library honoring her father located off the east wing of the Fawcett Center that opened two years ago.

Formerly known as the Center for Tomorrow, the Fawcett Center was built for $8 million 33 years ago.

"It was supposed to be a conference center that was ahead of its time," Ranz Calhoun said. "It was always focused on looking ahead at technology, what was coming in the next century. That's why Jane is excited about the renovations, because it's going to be a technologically smart facility once again."

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