The J. Wayne Reitz Union is the
student union
A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...
of the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, located on Museum Road on the university campus in
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...
. The union was named in honor of
J. Wayne Reitz
Julius Wayne Reitz (December 31, 1908 – December 24, 1993) was an American agricultural economist, professor and university president. Reitz was a native of Kansas, and earned bachelor's degree, bachelor's, master's degree, master's and doc ...
, the fifth president of the university, who served from 1955 to 1967. The building, which was originally completed in 1967, contains dining facilities, meeting rooms, offices, a computer lab, a
game room
Game Room was a social gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room let players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores. ...
, an outdoor
amphitheater
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
, retail stores, a movie theater and a hotel.
East of the Reitz Union is the
Constans Theatre
The Constans Theatre is a performing arts venue located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida.
History
The facility first opened in 1967, and currently serves as a venue for musical concerts, theater, dance, and lectures. T ...
, a performing arts venue. Although the two buildings are connected, the Constans Theatre is not managed by the union.
History
Background and opening
The University of Florida's original student union building was called the Florida Union and opened in 1936 (now known as
Dauer Hall
Dauer Hall is a historic building on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States.
Dauer Hall is a contributing property in the University of Florida Campus Historic District which was added to the Nationa ...
). At the request of president
Albert A. Murphree
Albert Alexander Murphree (April 29, 1870 – December 20, 1927) was an American college professor and university president. Murphree was a native of Alabama, and became a mathematics instructor after earning his bachelor's degree. He late ...
, former U.S. Senator
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...
assisted in the fund-raising for the Florida Union, and he was aided by the students who agreed to pay an extra fee so that the facility could be built. However, in time, the sentiment was that this building was too small and a new student union would have to be erected to meet the demands.
Plans for the new facility were crafted in 1948, however the project wasn't approved until May 1962.
Financing for the union was accomplished by a statewide revenue certificate program for higher education generated and supported by fees of students of all state institutions of Florida. The financial start was in October 1951, when the student body voted a small fee to be set aside for the construction of this facility. Subsequent actions by the student body, the university administration, the Board of Control (now the Board of Regents), and the State Board of Education made the union possible. There were no tax funds used in the construction or furnishings of the building. One approved, it took two years to secure funding, and the ground breaking was on May 9, 1964. The building was officially completed and opened to the students on May 1, 1967. In 1975, unfinished sections of the basement level were converted into meeting rooms.
Expansions from 1991–2003
Additional meeting rooms were constructed above the union colonnade, and the Career Resource Center (now the Career Connections Center) was expanded in 1991. In 1992, the game room was expanded. 1995 brought several changes, including the addition of a new wing to house the Career Connections Center, converting the existing cafeteria/snack bar area into a food court and the addition of retail space on the ground floor. These projects were completed in 1998. In 2002, the Grand Ballroom opened above the Career Connections Center.
In 2003, the ''UF Bookstore and Welcome Center'' was completed. The expansion, which is connected to the Reitz Union through an expanded food court, includes a parking garage, along with a new bookstore. The bookstore, along with the student ID card services, replaced existing facilities located at
The Hub The Hub may refer to:
Places
* The Hub, Bronx, an area of the South Bronx, New York, known for its convergence of subway and bus lines
* The Hub (Edinburgh), former church in Edinburgh that is now home to the Edinburgh International Festival
* T ...
.
Expansions and renovations in the 2010s
Renew Your Reitz campaign (2010)
In February 2010, university president
Bernie Machen
James Bernard Machen (; born March 26, 1944) is an American university professor and administrator. Machen is a native of Mississippi, and earned several academic degrees before becoming a university administrator and president. Machen had been t ...
, members of the university's board of trustees, student leaders, and other university officials launched an aggressive campaign to spend $90 million to make repairs and expand the outdated building, which has an estimated $42.5 million in needed repairs. The expansion would include a 24-hour study center, a new parking garage (750 spaces), an expanded printing lab, more restaurant selections, new multipurpose meeting rooms, a 1,500-seat auditorium, and a cutting-edge fitness center. About $60 million of this cost would come from a proposed student fee, which would increase tuition rates by $3 per credit hour plus a $20 flat fee each semester. This fee would likely be in effect for the next 30 years.
From February 23–24, 2010, about 9,775 UF students voted on this issue, with nearly 56% voting against the proposed fee to cover repairs of the Reitz Union, and 55% voting against funding the expansion. The Student Government will explore multiple alternative sources for renovating the aging student center, including the Public Education Capital Outlay, and the Capital Improvement Trust Fund, a fund to which all public university students contribute.
Make It Reitz (2013–2016)
In summer 2013, the Reitz Union began an extensive renovation and expansion project which added an additional 126,000 square feet and renovated 90,000 square feet of the existing building. The construction included offices and support space for student organizations and space for Student Government, offices and program space for the David and Wanda Brown Center for Leadership and Service, the Department of Student Activities and Involvement, the Office of Multicultural and Diversity Affairs, Reitz Union Programs and GatorWell Health Promotion Services.
The doors to the renovated and expanded facility opened on February 1, 2016. The 2016 renovations cost $70.7 million.
Protests in the 2020s
In the summer and fall of 2020, protests to change the name of the Reitz Union were held.
[ UF students criticized Reitz as a namesake for the student center, as he was "accused of racism," due to his segregationist stance, which included stalling integration efforts during his tenure as UF President.]
Students also criticized Reitz's allowing of UF faculty and students to be accused of "homosexual behavior."[ In response to a petition on this issue, UF President ]Kent Fuchs
Wesley Kent Fuchs (; born 1954) is an American university professor and academic administrator. He is the current president of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Upon taking office on January 1, 2015, he became the university's tw ...
ushered initiatives to address racism on campus; among them was a task force to assess whether some campus buildings should be renamed.[ However, students protested further due to the task force's slow pace of action.]
In January 2021, a boycott of the food court within the Reitz Union was launched; the Gainesville Chapter of the Dream Defenders, UF NAACP, the UF Black Student Union and the Coalition to Abolish Prison Slavery at UF organized the boycott to pressure UF into moving off of Aramark
Aramark Corporation, known commonly as Aramark, is an American food service, facilities, and uniform services provider to clients in areas including education, healthcare, business, prisons, and leisure. It operates in North America (United St ...
as a food supplier for the university. Aramark's use of prison labor was cited as reason for the boycott.[
]
Facility specifics
* In 1967, the official size of the structure was .
* The total cost at that time was $5.7 million.
* The cost of construction was $4.4 million.
* The architects
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
for the project were Barrett, Daffin and Bishop of Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
, and Moore and May of Gainesville, Florida.
Union amenities
The Student Union is home to many services and shops for student convenience. Shops are owned by both corporations and the University, and upper levels contain meeting rooms for student organizations and a hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
. The union has eight levels including the Lower Level/plaza. Inside the union is a bicycle repair facility, sponsored by the University of Florida Student Government.
A full map of the building is viewable at th
Reitz Union website
Lower Level
* Arts and Crafts Center
* SG Computer Lab
* Dance Studios
* Maintenance, A/V Services, Productions, Housekeeping, and IT Services department offices
Ground Level
* Reitz Union Hotel Reception (Rooms located on Levels 5 and 6)
* P.O.D (Provisions On Demand)
* Shake Smart
* Subway
*SG Bike Repair
* Game Room, including bowling alley
A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...
and pool table
A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, pool, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that i ...
* Gator 1 Central ( Student number, student ID card services)
* Kaplan Kaplan may refer to:
Places
* Kapłań, Poland
* Kaplan, Louisiana, U.S.
* Kaplan Medical Center, a hospital in Rehovot, Israel
* Kaplan Street, in Tel Aviv, Israel
* Mount Kaplan, Antarctica
* Kaplan Arena, at the College of William & Mary in W ...
Education Center
* Reitz Union Barbershop (barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
shop)
* Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
(bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
)
Level 1
* University Bookstore
* Information Desk
* Indoor food court
A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...
, including 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 ...
, Pollo Tropical
Pollo Tropical (Spanish language, Spanish for "Tropical Chicken") is a South Florida-based restaurant chain and Franchising, franchise specializing in food inspired by Latin-American, Latin-Caribbean cuisine. Founded in 1988, the chain has its h ...
, Papa Johns
Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan ...
, 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 ...
, Croutons, and Wendy's
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the ...
* Career Connections Center
* Study Lounges
* Administrative Offices
* Classic Fare Catering Office
* Event Services Office
* GatorWell Health Promotion Services
Level 2
* Grand Ballroom
* Meeting Rooms
* Reitz Union Auditorium often used as a movie theater
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
* The Gallery
* The David and Wanda Brown Center for Leadership and Service
* Multicultural and Diversity Affairs
Level 3
* Student Government offices
* Reitz Programming Board (RPB)
* Department of Student Activities and Involvement
* Reitz Union Programs
* Rion Ballroom
* GatorNights
* Student Legal Services (including notary
A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.
A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...
services)
* Sorority and Fraternity Affairs (part of the Student Activities and Involvement dealing with fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America.
Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...
)
* Meeting Rooms
Level 4
* Arredondo Cafe (formerly the Arredondo Room and Micanopy Room)
* Matthews Suite
Level 5 and 6
* Reitz Union Hotel Guest Rooms (Hotel Front Desk on Ground Level)
See also
* History of the University of Florida
The history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida originated as several distinct institutions that were consolidated to create a single state-supported un ...
* List of University of Florida buildings
The University of Florida is the flagship university in the State University System of Florida and has many notable buildings located in cities including Gainesville, Jacksonville, and Orlando. The Campus Historic District at the University of ...
References
External links
J. Wayne Reitz Student Union
Alligator article about the Union
Youtube video of the Student Union
{{Authority control
1967 establishments in Florida
Buildings at the University of Florida
Student activity centers in the United States