By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The new gateway into the Bowling Green State University campus does not bear the name of a donor. Instead it is called the Alumni Gateway.
That’s not for want of donors. The program listed 48 donors who gave between $10,000 and $24,999.
And Drew Forhan, a 1991 BGSU graduate and vice chair of the Board of Trustees, and his wife are listed prominently for a large challenge gift to help jump start the campaign.
“It’s called Alumni Gateway,” said President Rodney Rogers. “It isn’t claimed by a single donor. Instead it belongs to each of us, each of us as alums of Bowling Green State University and future alums. It’s a symbol that all are welcome on our campus who share our mission to do good and make a difference, who believe in the pursuit to share and create new knowledge.
The gateway will welcome “those who embrace our mission to create public good and make our world a better place, just a little bit better. That is the power of public education. That’s the power of Bowling Green State University.”
The gateway was dedicated Saturday morning as part of the university’s 100th anniversary of homecoming.
The project had a price tag of $2.2 million, all raised with private funds.
The gateway includes a fountain which is named the Schmeltz Family Fountain, in honor of a transformative gift by Peggy Schmeltz in honor of her late husband, William, who had a 30-year career at BGSU as a professor, department chair, and dean of what is now the Schmidthorst College of Business.
The gateway, said Bowling Green Mayor Mike Aspacher, is “a beautiful nod to our history” and a symbol of the next chapter in the close relations between the city and university.
The early design of the campus, which was built on the site of what had been the city park, had a driveway into the historic campus quadrangle.
The vision of the recently completed master plan was to open that up to the community again, with a vista down Court Street and into campus where the “Traditions” buildings have been renovated.
This was, Rogers said, the vision of the late vice president for capital planning and campus operations Steve Krakoff.
To realize that vision the Administration Building that occupied the site until last year had to be razed.
The building was “functional, product of 1960s architecture,” Forhan said. “Few will miss it.” Certainly not him, given his memories as a student of weekly trips there to pay parking tickets.
In its place will now be a “vibrant meeting place.” He said he could imagine couples becoming engaged at the fountain.
“Certainly this is an upgrade from the Administration Building,” said Joshua Auten, undergraduate student trustee. A member of the class of 2023, he said he’s proud that he will soon be joining the ranks of BGSU alumni.
Christine Ellie and Janet Bower, the daughters of William and Peggy Schmeltz, spoke of the family’s deep connections to the university. Not only was their father on faculty, but their mother received two degrees from BGSU, and other members of the family received six more.
Their father taught them that “education enriches your life and can never be taken away,” Ellie said.
Bower said her parents also taught them “the benefits of generous giving.”
The gateway project was testament to that.
Rogers said that in 1910 there was a small but adamant opposition to the city turning the land over to the state to build the university, the first public university in Northwest Ohio.
They insisted that the land must be sold, not given. So an auction was arranged. Rumor had it that those opposed would be present to drive up the price. So at the last minute the auctioneer switched the site from near where the gateway now stands to another spot. The auction went off without a hitch, and the property was purchased by J.N. Easley for $10. He then sold it to the state, Rogers recounted, for a $1.
That $9 could be considered the first donation to BGSU, he said.
That would be $280.58 in today’s dollars. Maybe, Rogers said, “his name should be here as well.”
