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Lindley Center promotes understanding

Landon Nordeman

Sharing a conversation this past fall in the recently renovated Lindley Cultural Center are (from left) James Joyce, Kim Connell, Nicole Neal and Derek Patterson.

The artwork in Lindley Cultural Center is as diverse as the students who walk through the center’s doors. A tall wooden sculpture, paintings and posters commemorating African-American women complement the light gray walls of the Lindley Hall ground-floor area.

The center, which originally opened in 1975 as a gathering place for minority students, was renovated in fall 1999 into a multicultural learning and teaching facility that better reflects its community-wide message of cultural awareness and understanding.

“Lindley will eventually serve as a catalyst for cultural enhancement in the Athens area,” says Associate Vice President of Student Affairs for Intercultural Affairs Janice Edwards, who directed the center last year. “I expect the center to create a better cultural climate at Ohio University through its programming, which is designed to cross every barrier to impact how people act, think and share.”

The 5,000-square-foot center includes a community lounge, conference meeting room, art gallery, 80-seat multipurpose room, computer lab, e-mail terminals and office space.

Director of Multicultural Programs Linda Daniels, who recently became the center’s director, wants to present more cultural programming, including lectures, films, book signings and art exhibits.

“One project being developed is a speakers bureau through which Ohio University faculty and staff can share their talents and expertise,” Daniels says. “We want the center to be more than a meeting place. We want it to develop its own programming.”

Natalie Barnes, a senior from Cincinnati and former Student Senate commissioner, was among the first students to propose renovation of the center to University administrators.

“I never dreamed the center would become a reality so fast,” Barnes says. “I’m happy I was there in the beginning and can enjoy watching students use the center.”

Sophomore Derek Patterson of Akron, Ohio, regularly visits the Lindley center to do his homework, check e-mail and talk with friends.

“Many students come here to get work done instead of going home between classes,” Patterson notes. “You can come here and do your homework, and there’s always people to socialize with when you need a break.”

— George Mauzy

A multicultural campus
John Newton Templeton made history when, in 1828, he became the first African-American to graduate from Ohio University. This past fall, 11 freshmen created a new milestone for multicultural students as members of the inaugural class of Templeton Scholars. The scholarship program covers the cost of in-state tuition, books and room and board.

Ten Ohio University students also were among the first to receive scholarships from the Gates Millennium Scholars Initiative, which is funded by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda.