ATHENS, Ohio — Ohio University will break ground on the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts Violet L. Patton Center for Arts Education on Monday, April 21, 2025, at 4 p.m. The ceremony, set to take place on McCracken Field behind Patton Hall on the Athens campus, marks a key step in the university’s $99.2 million plan to revitalize arts education and community engagement.
The public is invited to attend the groundbreaking, which will feature a welcome address followed by remarks from Interim Dean Jody Lamb, Violet Patton’s lawyer Katharine Davidson, and first-year musical theater student Erica Ahmed. A reception will follow the ceremony, with parking available in the Patton Hall parking lot.
The Patton Center is named in honor of Violet Patton, a 1938 Ohio University graduate who later received an honorary degree in 2011. Her $50 million bequest is the cornerstone of the project, which aims to serve not only the university’s students, faculty, and staff but also the broader Appalachian Ohio community. The new facility will include a 350-seat proscenium theater and rehearsal hall, a lobby designed to foster connections among students, faculty, and the community, as well as an art gallery and exhibition spaces for student and artist work.
The Patton Center is part of a larger initiative to transform the university’s arts facilities into interdisciplinary, innovative, and collaborative spaces. This includes major renovations to Seigfred Hall, home to the School of Art + Design, and the creation of an Arts + Education Green that will unite the College of Fine Arts’ six schools and four professional arts programs. The project is expected to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and enrich the educational experience for students.
Construction is slated for completion by summer 2026, with the facility opening to students in fall 2027.