Dedication ceremony for Kathryn Chicone Ustler Hall

September 25, 2006

WHAT: Dedication ceremony for Kathryn Chicone Ustler Hall

WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Friday, Sept. 29

WHERE: Ustler Hall, located off Fletcher Drive on the University of Florida campus

BACKGROUND: Ustler Hall, formerly known as the Women’s Gym, was the first permanent structure at the University of Florida intended for campuswide use. It reopened for classes this fall after sitting vacant for nearly 27 years.

Built in 1919 as “The New Gym,” the facility was a hub of campus activity and home to university athletics until 1948, when UF became coeducational and designated it as the Women’s Gymnasium. The building was used for general athletic purposes until 1979, when the Women’s Athletic Department moved into Florida Gymnasium. The university received state support to demolish the gym, but an interest in preserving original campus structures prevailed in 1988, when the building was granted protection under the National Register of Historic Places.

Thanks to a generous gift from 1961 sociology alumna Kathryn Chicone Ustler in May 2000, the gym has been transformed into a 14,700-square-foot, three-level academic structure.

PARKING INFORMATION: Parking has been reserved for all guests of the ceremony in an orange parking zone located west of Murphree Hall, almost directly across the street from Ustler Hall.

CONTACT: For more information, call Buffy Lockette in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at 352-846-2032 or editor@clas.ufl.edu.