Rendering of areas around Mirror Lake following conclusion of construction project. Credit: Courtesy of Board documents
Ohio State demolished a campus landmark last fall when it began a construction project on Mirror Lake. Now, the university is trying to engage donors in becoming a part of the end product with the Restoring Mirror Lake Brick Program.
Donors to the $8.4 million project — which is primarily funded by private donations — can receive permanent recognition with the opportunity to purchase a brick that will be installed on the path alongside the lake.
On the project’s website, donors have the option of purchasing a 4-inch-by-12-inch brick with two lines of customizable text for $500. The running rate for an 8-inch-by-16-inch paver is $3,000.
So far the university has received 192 bricks toward its goal of 1,000 and raised $113,600, according to the website.
At the Board of Trustees’ Advancement Committee meeting Wednesday, Jennifer Keyes, the Ohio State Alumni Association’s assistant vice president of annual giving, said donors also have the option of sharing stories about Mirror Lake.
Last week, she said her team sent an email to the Ohio State community requesting written accounts of the best memories people had about Mirror Lake and immediately received hundreds of stories. Keyes added that she’s working with University Archives to permanently store the collected accounts.
The deadline to buy a brick is Dec. 31, and the first step in laying the brick path will begin during Spring Semester, before the project finishes and Mirror Lake reopens this summer.
