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TEMPLETON-BLACKBURN
ALUMNI MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM REDEDICATED OCTOBER
23
ATHENS,
Ohio -- The Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium
will be rededicated at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, in honor of
the university's first male and female African-American
alumni, John Newton Templeton, an 1828 graduate, and Martha
Jane Hunley Blackburn, who graduated in 1916.
Descendants
of Templeton and Blackburn plan to attend the dedication as
do descendants of William Williamson, who brought Templeton
family members to Ohio from South Carolina after they were
freed from slavery by Williamson's family and helped
Templeton begin his studies at Ohio University.
Memorial
Auditorium originally was dedicated in 1929 following an
eight-year campaign that drew donations from more than 2,000
alumni, $20 contributions from students and pledges from
faculty who donated 10 percent of their salaries.
Presidents
Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy
Carter have spoken in or near the auditorium as have the
Rev. Martin Luther King and poets Robert Frost and Maya
Angelou.
Memorial
Auditorium reopened this fall following a two-year, $5.8
million renovation, including the installation of a larger
stage and orchestra pit, improved acoustics, lighting,
heating and air conditioning, seating and a
7,580-square-foot addition.
The
rededication is open only to those with tickets for the
Performing Arts Series concert that follows. The concert
features three-time Grammy nominee Dianne Reeves and the
world-famous Count Basie Orchestra.
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