Dandelion Square offers gathering place

he new Dandelion Square, a focal point of River Campus activity that is named for the school flower, was dedicated on September 8 during Convocation ceremonies welcoming students back to the College.

The square--located between the Robert B. Goergen Athletic Center, the Frederick Douglass Building, and Wilson Commons--serves as a major connecting pathway from Library Road to the center of campus. Over the summer, the area was enhanced with new walkways, trees, black iron benches, lighting, and a clock tower. A gold dandelion overlooks the square from atop the entrance to the Goergen Athletic Center, and is on a medallion underneath the 30-foot clock tower that flanks the southern end of Dandelion Square.

Major donations to the project came from Graham Wood Smith, a University alumnus and trustee, who with his family has supported many campus landscaping initiatives.

"Dandelion Square provides a pleasing, friendly environment to encourage a sense of community on campus," said President Thomas Jackson. "It creates an attractive and functional gathering place that will be enjoyed by visitors as well as students, faculty, and staff. We are grateful to the Smith family for all of their ongoing support for beautifying the campus."

Smith is an attorney in Orchard Park and also serves as the president of the George Graham Smith and Elizabeth Galloway Smith Foundation, Inc. He received his bachelor's degree from the University in 1953. His father, mother, two aunts, and an uncle also graduated from the University. The elder Smith supported campus landscaping projects both with financial support and personal supervision. Donations from Graham Smith and his mother funded improvements and maintenance of the lawns and flower beds on and near the Eastman Quadrangle.

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