Former U.S. Senator George Voinovich’s donation of his senatorial files will be commemorated Saturday with a dedication ceremony for a new part of Alden Library: the George V. Voinovich Seminar Room.
The dedication ceremony is the culmination of a series of events taking place while Voinovich is at Ohio University today and Saturday. In addition to meeting privately with some staff and faculty, he will join a public panel titled “Leadership in Public Service.”
The panel, which will take place at 3 p.m. today in the Walter Hall Governance Room, will be open only to OU students, said Amista Lipot, special assistant to the director at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.
“There’s a lot of students that take on leadership roles in their life and in school, and I think they can learn a lot from these people that have dedicated their lives to it,” Lipot said.
The panel also will include David Wilhelm, a 1977 OU alumnus; Yvette McGee Brown, Ohio Supreme Court justice and a 1982 OU alumnus; and Jo Ann Davidson, Ohio House speaker.
There also will be a discussion on “Women and Leadership” taking place at 1 p.m. today in the Faculty Commons on the third floor of Alden. McGee Brown and Davidson will take part in this discussion and will be joined by OU Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit.
“I think this is what the senator likes to do when he comes to Athens: interact with all the different types of people,” said Kelly Broughton, assistant dean for research and education services at Alden Library.
Alden houses Voinovich’s gubernatorial collection.
Voinovich approached OU about housing his senatorial collection after he chose not to seek re-election to the Senate in 2010. The library then decided to construct a seminar room in his name. Several sponsors funded the fifth floor room.
The seminar room will be a study space when unoccupied.
Former OU President Vernon Alden will attend the dedication ceremony, which will begin at 10 a.m. in the new seminar room, said Doug Partusch, director of development at Alden
Speakers at the ceremony will include Voinovich; Benoit; OU President Roderick McDavis; Scott Seaman, dean of OU libraries; and Mark Weinberg, director of the Voinovich School.
bv111010@ohiou.edu
