inside - University of Central Oklahoma

development and donors
By Chris Brawley-Morgan
When the University of Central
Oklahoma’s newest garden recently
began putting down roots, its inspiration
was already in place: casually perched on
a bench, his soulful eyes glancing towards
Mitchell Hall Theater.
William Shakespeare, in the form
of a life-size bronze statue, is now the
centerpiece of the new Shakespeare
garden at Central.
Rainey High, UCO assistant director
of architectural services, suggested the
garden’s theme.
“It didn’t take much of a leap to make
the connection. He needs to be in a
Shakespeare garden, for goodness sakes,”
High said.
High also created the design for
the garden, which so far has brought
improved outdoor lighting, new benches
given by donors and landscaping to
Mitchell Hall Theater’s front lawn.
Shakespeare gardens, which are grown
throughout the world, typically include
some of the 100 or so plants mentioned
by Shakespeare in his 38 plays and
numerous sonnets and poems. The plants
are usually marked with a line or two of
the appropriate Shakespearean reference.
The public Shakespeare gardens
usually offer formal, geometric-style
English landscaping, areas of more
natural, cottage-style growth and a
weatherproof likeness of Shakespeare.
In the long run, all of these elements
will comprise the UCO garden with the
bronze statue of Shakespeare already in
place. The figure of the bard, sitting next
Bloom
shakespeare
garden to
to the skull from “Hamlet,” was installed in
2007 as a tribute to the late UCO Theatre
Arts Professor, Douglas Getzoff.
“This will be a great thing to have in front
of the theater. It will be a point of interest,
as well as a place to gather before and after
the show,” said Jim Poe, UCO director of
Mitchell Hall and university productions.
One of the first improvements to the
garden, located near the intersection of
University Drive and East Main, was the
removal of a large expanse of concrete.
Aged residential lights have been replaced
by commercial-grade versions. In addition,
six classic-styled benches will eventually
replace benches with concrete bases.
So far, four of those classic benches,
each costing $1,500, have been donated
by Jack and Pam McCarty in honor of
their daughter Hannah; by Gayle Kearns,
associate dean of the College of Fine Arts
and Design; by Jim Poe whose purchase
replaces an existing bench in memory of
Charles Wilmon Overton, a member of
Central’s Blue Curtain Players; and by
members of the Cambridge Club, a group of
wives of former faculty members.
“We thought the bench was a great way
to celebrate our 100th anniversary in
2013,” said Cambridge Club member Kathy
Thomas. “It’s in front of Mitchell Hall; it’s
visible; and it will get used. In addition, the
bench also shows a strong tie to Central.”
College of Fine Art and Design
Development Director, Lori Alspaugh,
says the benches are a unique way to
commemorate someone or something special.
“Mitchell Hall is a historic building that
was neglected for so long. This is a great
way to showcase one of the crown jewels of
our campus, and donors can be an integral
part of that,” Alspaugh said.
Eventually, the new landscaping will
create a courtyard effect near Mitchell
Hall’s entrance, making the whole
entrance to the historic theater much more
aesthetically pleasing.
For information on purchasing a bench,
contact Alspaugh at (405) 974-3778. ■
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Top: “Shakespeare” by Gary Lee Price