While the concept of a student center on Miami University’s campus was first proposed 70 years ago, the idea of just what such a facility should be and whom it should serve has more closely resembled a journey than a clear destination.
From the Redskin Reservation to the Shriver Center, through two major renovations and expansions, to the approval of the Armstrong Student Center, generations of alumni each have their own image of the student center at Miami. This image has been shaped not just by the needs of students but by the demands of alumni and the community, a burgeoning enrollment, and the changing times.
Stephen Snyder `73, now executive assistant to the president, began his Miami career as a student dishwasher and grill cook at the University Center, where he remembers slathering real butter and even peanut butter and ice cream on “the real” oversized toasted rolls. Following graduation, Snyder spent 19 years as assistant director and later director of the center, witnessing cultural shifts on campus and overseeing a major renovation in the late 1980s.“When I was a student, the University Center was quite literally the center of campus,” Snyder recalled. “It was always packed on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The movie series was huge, and there were dances and concerts on the patio out back.”
Completed in 1957, the University Center underwent its first significant expansion just six years later – providing more cafeteria space, a second snack bar known as the Zebra Room, and a ballroom. It already featured The Res, a popular student snack bar and hangout; an eight-lane bowling alley; offices for student organizations; and the university bookstore.
According to Snyder, not only were the spaces at the time conducive to students gathering, the student culture required a hub of activity.
“We had the sophomore residency requirement, and most students wanted to stay on campus,” Snyder said. “The alcohol culture was also different, and not every function revolved around alcohol. There was a lot of demand for programming within the facility.”
In the ensuing years, Miami’s enrollment boomed, nearly tripling over the next 20 years. The sophomore residency requirement was phased out and the restrictions on cars for students were relaxed, but as student life at Miami changed, the demands on the center only grew.
All Things to All People
Though it was renamed the Shriver Center in 1981, the center’s original name, University Center, was quite intentional. The Alumni Association had taken over planning for the then-proposed student union in the late 1940s, and its president, Paul McNamara `29, advised that a name other than student center or student union be used, citing that it would be a center for many different functions and not just students.
At the time of the center’s construction, there was no gathering place for students or for visiting alumni. Adding to this dilemma was Oxford’s limited uptown, which would become overrun during busy weekends. The new center provided a place where alumni could meet, as well as an additional dining option in the 1809 Room. It also featured meeting and banquet spaces not previously available in Oxford.
“By the mid-1980s, we had way more requests than we had space available, and we were still trying to get by with ’60s- and ’70s-style snack bars and cafeterias,” said Snyder. “We also had a bookstore that was very cramped on one floor.”
Just over 30 years after the initial University Center was constructed, ground was broken on its second major renovation – an 18,000 square-foot expansion and face lift.
While the improved center still provided important services to the student population, the opportunities for recreation, informal gatherings, and student-originated programming were significantly reduced by the repurposing of spaces like the Zebra Room and bowling alley. Many of the student organizations included in the original center were moved to MacMillan Hall, and the banquet and meeting facilities were in heavy demand community-wide.
“With time, Shriver became more of a community place and less of a student place,” said Snyder, who left the center in 1992. “We lack those large meeting and banquet spaces in our community, and Shriver evolved to meet that need first.”
A Home for Students
While the 1989 renovation and expansion was a success in terms of prioritizing limited space to meet the university and community’s pressing needs, it would not take long for students to realize what was missing. In 2002, Associated Student Government President David Doyle ’02 became the first of eight consecutive student body presidents to voice the need for a dedicated student center to the board of trustees.
“Shriver Center was getting dated, while schools around us were building beautiful student centers,” Doyle said. “Shriver was still located at the heart of campus, but it was very fragmented and lacked a community feel.”
What Doyle describes as a slow rumble continued to grow in volume. An analysis of Shriver Center was conducted in 2004, resulting in an extensive report identifying the shortcomings of the current facility. In 2007, a feasibility study on the construction of a new student center was launched, relying heavily on student input.
The Board of Trustees approved the new student center in April 2008, which merges the current Culler, Gaskill, and Rowan Halls with a new central structure. It will stand across Spring Street from Shriver Center, which will continue to meet many university and community needs.
Meanwhile, student culture at Miami appears headed toward another shift. The sophomore residency requirement made its return in 2009. Academically, the student-as-scholar model is empowering students to collaborate on projects outside of the classroom as a central part of their education. Socially, more students are seeking alternatives to the underground drinking culture that has become prevalent on college campuses. With each of these shifts, the university faces more demands for spaces and programming that will be met within the Armstrong Student Center.
According to Snyder, who still misses the coffee, grilled tuna sandwiches, and camaraderie of the old Res, the Armstrong Student Center can also bring back something else the campus has been missing.
“Somewhere along the line, we lost our sense of community,” said Snyder. “We need that magnet that can draw people back to the center of campus, that place where the on- and off-campus contingents can interact. We need that place students can call ‘home.’”