A Unique University - Baughman Center

Lakeside Beauty On the UF web site, they describe the Baughman Center as: " designed to seamlessly integrate into the beauty of Lake Alice on Museum Road on the University of Florida Campus. Dr. George and Hazel Baughman, the Baughman Center's benefactors, envisioned an intimate shelter that, beneath graceful arches, presents an inspirational setting for contemplation, appropriate performing arts events and celebration."(Baughman)
A Rainy Day Idea Dr. George and Hazel Baughman donated $1 million to UF toward the building of the Baughman Center. According to Alicia Kuntz, a supervisor at the Baughman Center, Baughman got the idea for the center on a rainy day. "He went into a library one time to get out of the rain, and he was flipping through a magazine, I think it was National Geographic," she said. "He saw a building that was similar in the magazine."
	Weddings Welcome After five years of planning, construction began on the Baughman Center. It was completed in the summer of 2000. The center seats 96 people, making it an ideal location for a small, personal wedding. Though the center is technically called the Baughman Meditation Center, the majority of activities that take place in the center have nothing to do with meditation.(Baughman) Kuntz said the center is only open for weddings on weekends, but during the summer months, the center hosts as many as four weddings a day on Saturday and Sunday. During the rest of the year, she said there is at least one wedding each weekend.

This site is not in any way affiliated with the University of Florida. All photos taken by Alice Wallace.