In 1968 Ashland University

welcomed the construction of a brand new building; 85,000 square feet of potential. Subsequently, the Center for the Arts, more commonly referred to as CFA was born. CFA is arguably the most popular building on campus, but not in the highly praised or favored way one might imagine.

Despite the outdated and neglected interior, CFA is never vacant. The students and professors who are invested in the building are what make it admirable. Students majoring in art, theatre, music, journalism, production, and communications all see CFA as their home. Not necessarily because it is welcoming or appealing, and not just because because they spend the majority of their class and free time inside it.

It’s a deeper connection; a familiarity and comfort that is difficult to describe.

“We live, eat and even sleep in there,” said junior Hilary Reinheimer, a theatre major with a minor in psychology. “It is not just a building for our classes to be held but for those of us who live there it is a home.”

Students can be found at all hours of the day and night working vigorously to finish stories for The Collegian, perfecting their sculptures for the upcoming art exhibit, or practicing one last time to get that piano measure just right. Although it is students who primarily occupy the building, the presence of multiple faculty members cannot be ignored. One can expect to see professors preparing lectures, putting the final touches on a broadcast for AU TV-20, or rehearsing with theatre majors into late hours of the night, sometimes even early into the morning.

Much like a worn and ragged favorite book, the façade of the building itself exudes classic character and charm. And although the Center for the Arts building could potentially be the most loved and used building on campus, it may also be the most overlooked.

As an Arts and Sciences building, CFA is exceptionally lackluster and unimpressive. The building itself is nothing more than an exceptionally large rectangular box. Upon entry one may notice the floors look like a mosaic of dark grey and green glass, which is not as attractive as it sounds. The walls are worse, creamy white blocks of cement down to dirt brown. The building has been described as being in a sort of time-warp. However, the building’s superficial problems are the least of its worries.

“High priority needs are very invisible, things like HVAC and electrical upgrades,” said Rick Ewing, the vice-president of facilities management, “the things that may impact the experience in the facility but you can’t tell when they’re done.”

Ewing added that the building was 1960’s vintage and has had very few updates since it was built. The Center for the Arts is the only academic building that has not been addressed in the nine years that Ewing has been in his position at Ashland.

Thomas Reed, professor of music and chair of the Department of Music, is also displeased with the condition of the building. “Adequate” is the single word Reed used to describe CFA.

“With the age of the building there are needs for upgrades,” Reed said.

Along with heating and air-conditioning issues CFA is also lacking technology necessities that should be a standard requirement in any higher education building. Out of the four main classrooms that the music professors use on a daily basis only two of those rooms have up to date technology stations. Over Reed’s 27 years of teaching in CFA he has seen the building go through some remodeling of individual spaces, but necessary renovations have still not been addressed. While other buildings on campus are installing flat screen TVs and smart boards the music department is just thankful to have two classrooms with updated technology stations.

Ashland University is an exceptional school with many exquisite buildings but even tour guides avoid showing CFA to prospective students. Erica Christy is a tour guide at AU and has seen the vast contrast in quality in all of the school’s buildings. She shows the most beautiful and appealing ones on campus; CFA does not make the cut.

Christy emphasized that she shows the classrooms in Schar, the education building, and Dauch, the business building without fail. The only reason she ever shows CFA is if the student is interested in a major that offers classes in the building. Negative feedback is not uncommon.

On several occasions after showing CFA, she has heard a parent tell their potential Ashland student, “You don’t want to go here.”

“That worries me because I don’t think people believe that the arts majors are taken seriously because of that building,” Christy said.

As a liberal arts college, AU makes a special effort to provide every student with equal opportunity education. Nevertheless, students in the college of arts and sciences can’t help but feel like they’re getting the short end of the stick.

Forty-five years ago when CFA was constructed President Dr. Glenn L Clayton said the building was badly needed by the college to accommodate growth, and that it would be a useful facility for the community. The decision to commit to constructing a new building for the College of Arts and Sciences was a serious one; the building cost a total of $2.8 million.

Few investments have been made to the building since then; the most current renovations to CFA were seen in 1998 when the air conditioning was updated and in 1999 when the space for the AU student radio station, WRDL, was renovated. Additionally, in the fall of 2011, several JDM staff offices were refurbished.

Other buildings, like the 50-year-old Kettering Science Building, have received multiple improvements and restorations. Professors who have to teach in CFA have the misfortune of black mold in the ceiling tiles, leaky roofs that destroy artwork, and a light box in the TV studio that sometimes smokes when it is turned on, and that alumni from the early 1970s remember as being there when they were students.

JDM chair Gretchen Dworznik acknowledged that CFA is not up to par with the other buildings.

“I think it would be different if we were sandwiched between two nasty buildings,” she said, “but when you are between Schar and Dauch, which are these beautiful meccas to their colleges, this one is a little more like the red-headed stepchild on campus.”

Dworznik has the sense that since the building is so “shabby” that not many other majors could survive in it. Since those with a major in CFA are considered “artsy” and the building itself is “artsy” Dworznik believes they appreciate the beauty they see in the building and put up with its inconveniences.

The late Robert McGovern, a poet and former professor at AU, had a different take. He once said, “Isn’t it strange how all of the people who specialize in beauty, work in the tackiest building on campus.”

Non-majors are also sympathetic toward College of Arts and Sciences students. CFA neither encourages nor inspires creativity. Shayne Smith, a freshman music education major, explained the desperation of the building best.

“While the other buildings have received renovation after renovation, CFA sits and slowly deteriorates at the end of the line patiently waiting for its turn,” he said.