Ohio University Event Services is gearing up for its annual Opening Day when the office will open its reservation books for the 2018-19 academic year.

Opening Day kicks off promptly at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 7, and allows OHIO student organizations and departments as well as external customers to make reservations for Aug. 12, 2018, through Aug. 11, 2019, at the following venues on the Athens Campus:

• Baker University Center
• Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium
• Walter Hall Rotunda
• Galbreath Chapel
• Outdoor spaces

To coincide with its Opening Day, Event Services will now also provide new training sessions on its Virtual Event Management System (EMS). The in-person information training sessions, led by Event Services, will help to provide a more satisfactory user experience when reserving spaces. 

The one-hour training sessions will begin Feb. 12. To see the full listing of times available, please click here to sign up. In addition, you can learn on your own with our Virtual EMS Training Manual and our Virtual EMS Quick Guide and FAQ. 

Reservations for the venues and spaces mentioned above may be made via:

OHIO’s Virtual Event Management System (Virtual EMS)
Ohio University employees and students may reserve spaces by visiting https://oit-eventmgt.ohio.edu/VirtualEMS/. Virtual EMS is not available to external customers. To access Virtual EMS, customers must request access prior to March 7 through the site using their OHIO ID and password. Once access has been requested, it can take up to 48 hours to receive access to Virtual EMS. 

For student organizations, the requestor must be on the student organization’s Event User Agreement form, which is located on OrgSync and can be updated by the organization’s president. Once the form is updated, it can take up to 48 hours to update the contact list. Once that occurs, a new request for Virtual EMS access will need to be submitted on behalf of the requestor. If a student needs access to a University department account, professional staff in the Event Services office must receive approval from the student’s supervisor.

Walk-Up Reservations
Individuals wanting to make reservations in person may visit the Guest Services Desk on the fourth floor of Baker University Center.

Phone Reservations
External customers wanting to reserve spaces on campus should call the Event Services office at 740-593-4021 and ask to speak to Heather Thomas, assistant director of event management. 

Helpful Tips
Be sure to have all request information ready, such as: date, time, space, size, and account information. Before requesting space, check to ensure your account is registered, approved and active. You may do this by calling (740) 593-4021 to check your status, or log onto EMS to ensure your account is active. Reserve all major event spaces through Virtual EMS online. 
 
For more information, call 740-593-4021 or visit the Event Services website, which includes information on the venues and spaces the office manages.