Union to display OSU pride

When visitors walk into the new Ohio Union, they will certainly know what campus they are on. It has Ohio State written all over it — literally.

"Students provided us feedback that they didn't want a building that you could plop on any college campus," said Tracy Stuck, vice president of Student Life and director of the Ohio Union. "They wanted a building that spoke to Ohio State — that you knew you were a Buckeye when you walked in."

Seeing "Ohio State" in script while in the restroom, sitting by Brutus Buckeye in the Great Hall, reading the lyrics to "Carmen Ohio" on the paneling and being surrounded with the school colors are just a part of what those in the union will experience. Giving the place a unique OSU feel took planning, though.

Stuck asked Jim and Barbie Tootle, a retired alumni couple who both went to school and worked at OSU, to serve as consultants in the design of the union in Jan. 2006.

"The Ohio Union had been such an important building in our student days and in our careers, we were eager to do what we could to help make a new union a reality," Jim Tootle said. So they took part in the branding campaign.

"Branding is much more than putting a logo here and there," Barbie Tootle said. "It is making an emotional connection with people — bringing them back."

She said she would like to ensure the Union leaves an imprint on people, creating memories and reminding them of the people, events and places that were meaningful to them at the university.

The Tootles met with 12 focus groups of students, alumni, faculty and staff. The people in the groups were asked about the favorite places they had visited and what makes an impression on them.

"Over the years, we have visited more than a hundred college campuses," Jim said, "and we always try to stop by their student union to get a feel for the place."

That experience, along with visits to museums and other cultural institutions, prepared the Tootles for the focus sessions.

Jim Tootle said making the Union "Ohio State" was the idea that was most consistently expressed.

"You should look around and know you are on the Ohio State campus," Tootle said. "You should learn something more about the university from your visit to the Ohio Union."

One of the ideas incorporated into the new union is the use of mosaic terrazzo flooring, with symbols such as the university seal and words that inspire written into the main staircase. These ideas originate from the flooring at the Schottenstein Center and Fisher College of Business.

"People were looking for a couple of iconic places in the building where you could say to someone, ‘I will meet you by the whatever,'" Barbie Tootle said. The seal in the atrium, along with ideas such as a bronze Brutus Buckeye statue, are examples of places students will be familiar with.

"A great idea that got an enthusiastic response when it was presented was to tell more stories in the building," Tootle said. "Don't just put a person's name on a room, but tell us who that is and their Ohio State story."

In the Center for Student Leadership and Service, students will be able to read success stories. And under the ID plates on rooms that have been named throughout the union, there will be plaques to tell about those particular people and their relationship with OSU.

Many ideas also came from the former unions, the Tootles said. People suggested having the doors from old unions — including the first union, Enarson Hall — into the building. Stone fireplaces and the Hall of Presidents will also be carried over from the 1951 union building.

"Each student will interact with the building in a different way — favorite spots, places to be with friends, places to read, places to bring family," Barbie said. "Students will make it theirs and make memories for a lifetime."

She hopes the students feel connected with the university and its past, as well as a to one another through their affection for OSU. Jim has similar sentiments.

"I hope graduates will enjoy seeing the elements of the old building in the new one and will feel an ongoing connection [with] the university and its traditions," Jim said. When people see the various features of the Union, he wants them to have a reaction of "wow!"