This is the 14th in a weekly series called Bobcats by the Numbers comparing Ohio University to the five other Mid-American Conference universities in Ohio.
Read the previous entry in the series about on-campus sex-related crimes of Ohio MAC Schools.
When it is time to eat on campus, hungry Ohio University students have a variety options to choose from, but not as many as students at other schools in the state.
Of the six Mid-American Conferences universities in Ohio, OU is tied for third with the most dining halls on campus.
The six MAC universities in Ohio include OU, Miami University, Bowling Green State University, the University of Toledo, Kent State University and the University of Akron.
Miami has the most dining halls on campus with six, and Akron has the fewest number of dining halls on campus with one.
Of the six MAC universities in Ohio, OU had the third highest undergraduate enrollment, with 17,965 undergraduate students in Athens for fall 2015 when looking at data from main campuses. Miami had 15,974 undergraduate students on its Oxford campus.
OU’s three dining halls are Nelson Dining Hall, Shively Dining Hall and the District on West Green.
“Ohio University Culinary Services operates three dining courts in an effort to ensure that customers have access to fresh, convenient meal options — no matter their location on campus,” OU Spokesman Dan Pittman said in an email.
Kelly Mangosh, a sophomore studying communication sciences and disorders, said OU has enough dining halls but thinks the dining halls should have more diverse food options.
“I think three is fine. I just wish they had more of a variety because they serve the same thing every day," Margosh said. “I’m already burned out on food. ... You eat the same four things every week.”
She wishes the dining halls had Italian night or Chinese night.
Of OU’s three dining halls, Nelson was the most expensive to renovate at about $13.4 million. The least expensive one to renovate was Shively at $3.1 million. After being closed for a semester, The District reopened in August 2015 after undergoing about $11.8 million in renovations.
The cost to build four of the six dining halls on Miami's campus equated to more than $36 million. The information for the other two dining halls was not available as of press time.
Maura Blake, a sophomore studying communication sciences and disorders, said she wishes OU had an additional dining hall.
“I feel like there could be at least one that could be in the center of campus instead of on the greens," Blake said.
