Seventeen rooms in the new Ohio Union have been named in honor of donors who contributed more than $3.5 million to the building, which opens March 29.

The private donations ranged from $25,000 to $2 million, said Heather McGinnis, director of development for the Office of Student Life and the Ohio Union.

Donors don’t make commitments in exchange for a room named in their honor, McGinnis explained, but rather administrators choose to recognize gifts to the university with these rooms.

“If you make a gift in support of a building because you believe in this university, the gift will be recognized,” McGinnis said.

Before donations were accepted, the development office decided what the appropriate donation amount should be for each space in the new Union. Gifts toward the new $118 million building included monetary donations as well as equipment donations, and came from corporations, groups and individuals.

On the first floor, the spaces named for these donors are the U.S. Bank Conference Theater, the Ben and Arlene Roth Lounge and the Joe-Ann Schmahl Suite.

U.S. Bank gave $500,000 to the Union and will also open a branch and four ATMs in the new Union. The Conference Theater will host OUAB’s movie and lecture series, among other things, said Tracy Stuck, director of the Ohio Union, in an earlier interview with The Lantern.

Bank representative Dave Sceva made the donation in the Union on Monday, which also included $550,000 to go to OSU student organizations.

Kenneth D. Roth, president of Roth Produce Company, a Columbus-based company whose clients include OSU, donated $50,000 in honor of his parents Ben and Arlene.

“For years our parents have been huge Ohio State fans and supporters, so when the opportunity to honor them with a donation to the new Ohio Union came along it was a perfect fit,” Roth said. “Naming a lounge in honor of mom and dad was a way for all of us to show how much they have meant to us.”

Robert H. Schmahl made a donation in honor of his wife, Joe-Ann, who developed Buckeye pride while her husband was a student.

Robert Schmahl, an OSU graduate of 1961 and the College of Engineering representative for the Alumni Advisory Council, donated $100,000 to the Union.

Joe-Ann Schmahl always tried to find ways to support the university, said representatives at the Office of Development. One way was through the endowment of The Robert H. and Joe-Ann Schmahl Engineering Scholarship Fund.

Anyone interested in donating to OSU should contact the OSU Office of Development.