About 260 UF doctoral students wearing decorated caps became the first class to graduate in the renovated Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Friday.
The commencement ceremony was the first public event to be held in the center, which cost $64.5 million to renovate, since construction began in March, according to Alligator archives. About 1,000 guests attended the ceremony, waiting with flowers as they watched their loved ones walk across the stage.
The renovations included a new main entrance, sound system, seats, flooring, lighting and energy-efficient electricity and plumbing systems, said Lynda Reinhart, the O’Connell Center’s director.
“Everyone comes in and says it looks so different, but yet it still feels like the old O’Connell Center,” Reinhart said. “People are surprised at how much work was done in such a short period of time.”
During construction, commencement was held in the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Spring and the Phillips Center in Summer, wrote UF spokesman Steve Orlando in an email.
As visitors entered the center Friday, they walked over a large Gator logo on the floor. Visitors sat in the updated cushioned seats to watch students receive their diplomas on the Jumbotron.
Lauren Douma, 28, was excited to be part of the first class to graduate in the renovated center.
Her boyfriend, Adam Watson, 33, graduated with his Ph.D. during Summer in the Phillips Center, the UF genetics and genomics Ph.D. graduate said. But, that venue didn’t have enough seats for everyone, so she watched as some graduates’ family members had to stand during the ceremony.
Douma said she preferred being in the O’Connell Center for her turn to graduate.
“It’s really neat that we get a sneak peek into it before anyone else,” she said.
Eric Johnson, 48, said that compared to other arenas, the new seats in the O’Connell Center gave him space to stretch his legs as he watched his sister graduate.
“I’m a tall guy and there was enough leg room,” he said.
Johnson said he was able to see his sister’s face on the new video screens as she got her diploma.
“I could take a photo of my sister on the screen,” he said.
President Kent Fuchs appears on the JumboTron as he welcomes doctoral graduates, families and friends to the Fall Commencement ceremony in the newly renovated Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Friday, December 16, 2016. Friday’s ceremony was the first since the building’s renovation.
