The third floor of the new Ohio Union contains eight rooms named in honor of eight individuals and organizations. Donations toward the naming of the rooms totaled more than $800,000.
More than half of that came from a $500,000 donation by the John R. and Margrite Davis Foundation toward the “Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Room.”
Neither John or Margrite, both now deceased, had any affiliation with Ohio State. But the foundation has made a habit of donating to universities, including the University of Michigan and the University of Kentucky.
It was Deborah Cunningham, a program coordinator within the OSU Office of Student Life and board member of the Davis Foundation, who first suggested the Ohio Union as a possible donation recipient.
“It was important for us to support a space on campus where students of all beliefs could go and reflect,” Cunningham said.
“We wanted to create a warm, peaceful place that was non-denominational, that all students could access despite personal beliefs. We worked with the campus Interfaith Association to design the space so that it would be welcoming to all students and guests.”
One room that is certainly named for someone affiliated with OSU is the Barbie Tootle room. Tootle first became involved in OSU’s student organizations as a freshman in 1961. She went on to be the coordinator for greek affairs from 1974 to 1985, and in 1985 joined the Office of the President, eventually retiring in 1999.
The room was named to honor her via a $75,000 donation from former fraternity and sorority leaders that she worked with.
The room was revealed to Tootle in July of 2007 during a surprise party organized by her husband and friends, including Tracy Stuck, the director of the Ohio Union.
“To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement,” Tootle said. “As a member of the Ohio Union Council, I had been working with Tracy’s team a long time on various aspects of the building project.
As she was fundraising, I expressed surprise that this magnificent room on the corner had not yet been named. I kept encouraging her to find a good match for it. Little did I know.”
Having a room named after her in the Union is fitting for Tootle. The old Union was a big part of her life. She attended her freshman orientation there. She frequently ate lunch in the building’s cafeteria with the man who would become her husband when they were undergraduates. And when she accepted a position at the university, her first office was in the Union.
Since retiring, she has opened her own consulting business, Left Field Consulting, and volunteers her time to multiple organizations.
She looks back with nothing but fondness on her long tenure at OSU and hopes her room will help present and future students enjoy their time in Columbus as much as she did.
“Many interesting opportunities still come my way, much as they did when I was a freshman at Ohio State,” Tootle said. “And I believe none of them would have happened had I not gotten involved as a student in activities and organizations at Ohio State.
“I know that my story is being repeated right now. Today’s students are having the kinds of experiences on campus that I so valued at the time, and have come to appreciate more and more.”
Other rooms on the third floor include the Tanya R. Rutner Room, the Sigma Phi Epsilon Lounge, the Suzanne M. Scharer Room, the Stanley D. Gottsegen Lounge, the Rosa M. Ailabouni Room and the Hays Cape Room. Donations for the six rooms ranged from $25,000 to $75,000.
