The Gatton Student Center is a student activity center for meetings, conferences, meals, recreation, and shopping for students on the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

campus in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. The building houses University of Kentucky's student service offices, as well as many dining and recreational facilities. The original building was constructed in 1938 and remodeled in 2018.

History

Before being renamed to "Gatton Student Center" in 2018, the original

's student center was completed in 1938; with renovation additions happening in 1963 and 1982. Beginning in 2014, the University of Kentucky Student Center would undergo a series of remodels and expansions resulting in the Gatton Student Center, a US$200 million, 330,000 square foot building. Construction of the Gatton Student Center was finalized in 2018, two years after its projected grand opening in 2016. The original 1938 ballroom and Great Hall, which feature wrought-iron rails and decorations made by UK engineering students in the campus forge, are being preserved. They were designed by Architect Ernst Johnson; many other buildings designed by Johnson for the University have since been torn down and replaced. The most recent renovation to the building, beginning in 2014, The Gatton Student Center was designed by Omni Architects company and Perkins + Will. Foodservice design was provided by Tipton Associates, APAC.

Naming of building

The Gatton Student Center is named after

Bill Gatton Carol Martin "Bill" Gatton (May 25, 1932 – April 18, 2022) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. Gatton was born near Bremen, Kentucky, on May 25, 1932. He earned his B.S. in 1954 from the University of Kentucky. In addition to his de ...

, an American businessman who is an alumnus of the

. Gatton donated $20,000,000 to fund the project, hence why the building was named in his honor.

Facilities

Dining

Dining hall

Champions Kitchen is located on the first floor of the Gatton Student Center, which serves as a

dining hall A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

for students to purchase meals. Champion's Kitchen offers a 750-seat dining room with multiple entree options for students to choose from. Champions Kitchen is one of two dining halls offered on campus; it serves those who live on the North side of the University of Kentucky.

Restaurant chains

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain which is the country's largest which specializes in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Coll ...

Auntie Anne's Auntie Anne's is an American franchised chain of pretzel shops founded by Anne F. Beiler and her husband, Jonas, in 1988. Auntie Anne's serves products such as pretzels, dips, and beverages. They also offer Pretzels & More Homemade Baking Mix f ...

Panda Express Panda Express is an American fast food restaurant chain that serves American Chinese cuisine. With over 2,200 locations, it is the largest Asian-segment restaurant chain in the United States, where it was founded, and is mainly located in North ...

Subway (restaurant) Subway is an American multinational fast food restaurant franchise that specializes in submarine sandwiches (subs), wraps, salads and drinks. Subway was founded by 17-year-old Fred DeLuca and financed by Peter Buck in 1965 as Pete's Super ...

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

Recreational

Alumni Gym

Originally serving as the

s basketball court from 1924 to 1950, the Alumni Gym Fitness Center is now serving as a gym for students and faculty to use while on campus. The original building was remodeled in 1937, as well as 1982. Alumni Gym Fitness Center features over 200 pieces of exercise equipment. The Alumni Gym Fitness Center serves as one of the two fitness centers located on campus; it is located on the North side of the University of Kentucky's campus.

Cats Den

The Cats Den, located on the first floor of the Gatton Student Center, is a designated area for students to socialize with one another. Open karaoke nights are offered on weekday nights. The space is often used during the day by students as a quiet area to do homework, study, or eat lunch away from the main areas of the building.

Retail

Barnes & Noble Book Store

The Gatton Student Center is home to the University of Kentucky Bookstore, a 30,000 sq. ft location where purchases of books and

apparel can be made. There is also an

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

store located inside of the building. The

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

bookstore is located on the second floor, where other

novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

books can be purchased. The Barnes and Noble bookstore is functional and convenient for students to purchase books needed for classes at the University of Kentucky, as professors and teachers are able to directly submit to the bookstore the materials needed for his/her/their courses.

Apple Store

The

Store, located on the third floor of the Gatton Student Center, offers Apple technology to students at the Education discounted price. However, Only students and staff at the University of Kentucky are able to make purchases and must show a valid University of Kentucky ID.

University of Kentucky Bookstore

The Official University of Kentucky Bookstore makes its home in the Gatton Student Center offering official Wildcat gear, apparel, and gifts available to students and visitors of the University.

Student organizations

The following University of Kentucky student organization offices can be found located inside of the Gatton Student Center: * Student Activities Board * Student Government Association * Center for Community Outreach * DanceBlue * Radio station WRFL * Office of LGBTQ* Resources * Martin Luther King Center

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.uky.edu/gattonstudentcenter/ University of Kentucky 1938 establishments in Kentucky