History
The first student activity center in America was Houston Hall, at the University of Pennsylvania, which opened January 2, 1896 and remains in operation to this day. Oklahoma State University's student activity center, opened in 1950. With subsequent additions and renovations in 2010 have made the building one of the largest student activity centers in the world at 611,000 sq ft (56,800 m2). The first Ohio Union at Ohio State University was Enarson Hall. The building opened in 1911 and was the first student activity center to be built at a state university and the fourth of its kind in the United States.
Some student activity centers carry unique origins and historical significance with some on the National Register of Historic Places. The William Pitt Union originally constructed in 1898 as a hotel and was converted into a student activity center in 1956. Some student activity centers on the NRHP include O'Hara Student Center (University of Pittsburgh), McKenny Hall (Eastern Michigan University) and the Tivoli Student Union. The Tivoli Student Union was originally home to the Trevoli Brewing Company but since has been converted to serve several institutions in Denver, Colorado
The Association of College Unions International is one of the oldest association in higher education which dates back to 1914. This association is the largest organization that represent student activity centers and student unions in the United States. As of today the organization has 522 member institutions.
In 2007, The University of Vermont's student center became the first LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Other examples of student activity centers include West Virginia University's Mountainlair, the J. Wayne Reitz Union at the University of Florida, the Bronco Student Center at Cal Poly Pomona, the McCormick Tribune Campus Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Price Center at UC San Diego.
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“America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
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