Stadium Scholarship Dormitory

Stadium Scholarship Dormitory. . , Ohio Stadium was once the site of the Stadium Scholarship Dormitory, a cooperative scholarship housing facility serving students with outstanding academic ability and limited financial resources., The program was the brainchild of Joseph A. Parks, Dean of Men, who realized in the early years of the Great Depression that many talented students were choosing not to pursue higher education simply because they could not afford it. Parks proposed a cooperative scholarship housing program in which qualifying students would pay reduced costs for room and board in exchange for performing all work necessary to maintain the dormitory., In 1933, the first group of thirty-five men moved into the facility: a no frills, barrack-like dormitory in Ohio Stadium's southwest corner that eventually became known as the Tower Club. Later additional sections were added called the Scioto Club, Buckeye Club and Stadium Club. In the early years, residents were charged roughly $1 per quarter for a room and $3.50 per week for meals. The facility continued to grow section by section filling the entire west side of the stadium and became the Stadium Scholarship Dormitory. Women were first admitted as residents in 1975, and by the end of the 1970's, the dormitory housed more than 350 students. Thousands of students who lived in the facility considered the experience to be a unique opportunity, a privilege and an honor., The Stadium Scholarship Dormitory operated at this site until 1999, when, due to the restoration of Ohio Stadium, it was moved to Mack Hall on Neil Avenue. In 2010 the program then relocated to Scholars East and Scholars West on West 10th Avenue where it thrives today. The Stadium Scholarship Program continues due to the dedication and support of the Stadium Scholarship Alumni Society, the OSU Board of Trustees, university employees, and current students in the Stadium Scholarship Program. , Although the location has changed, the cooperative spirit lives on and continues to serve many exceptional and accomplished students.