Some notable fixtures — including an infamous olive jar — will transfer to new ownership when the University of Akron unloads a home that it had provided for past presidents.
The $556 olive jar was part of the $141,000 decorating cost for the West Akron house located near the Portage Country Club, that was renovated for then UA president Scott Scarborough.
The olive jar became a focal point of ridicule at a time when Scarborough was announcing major cost-cutting moves; the Greek antique took off on social media with its own Twitter handle and a Facebook page with 1,650 followers.
The furnishing was part of the $951,000 total cost of renovations to the 7,600 square foot house with a paneled 1,120-square-foot recreation room on the lower level, five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, two half-baths, marble floors and a four-car garage.
University officials said the house was purchased in 1998 along with a neighboring lot for $850,000 for former UA President Luis Proenza, but little had been done in terms of renovations since 1999. It was a university policy that presidents live in the university-owned house until UA president Matthew Wilson was appointed in July of 2016. He and the board of trustees agreed he would not live in the house, which has been vacant since Scarborough moved out in September of 2016, when he stepped down as president.
“All of the furniture and items that were purchased from donated funds remain in the university-owned residence, including the large planter that has been referred to as an ‘olive jar,’ ” said Wayne Hill, a spokesman for UA. “If and when legislative approval is obtained to sell the property, determinations will be made about the disposition of those items.”
Hill said the board of trustees will determine the best way to sell the university-owned residence, once it receives the go ahead to sell the property.
Some people on and off campus said they would love to purchase the olive jar and donate the money back to the students.
The item was located in the northeast corner of the master bedroom. The interior designer, Alan Garren, said it actually cost less than the initial plan, because “such jars can range into the thousands.”
The 3-feet-tall, 200-pound olive jar was cheaper than most of the other decorating costs in the bedroom: Two chairs and an ottoman ($4,500), two night tables ($2,600), a makeup chair ($838) and a mirror ($1,800).
But it was the olive jar that garnered the most attention, especially after the university slashed jobs.
Protest rallies started after 213 positions were eliminated to make up for budget shortfalls.
A total of 161 employees were given notice they would no longer have jobs. The staffs at E.J. Thomas and the UA Press were let go, and the entire baseball program that had been at the university since 1873 was eliminated.
The renovations were made before the cuts were announced, but protesters nonethless latched onto the olive jar as a symbol of their ire. It inspired not-so-fancy miscellaneous olive jars in front of a box labeled “Food Bank” set near the board meeting entrance on the third floor of the Student Union. Some protesters would chant “olive jar” at rallies, and UA alumna Wendy Duke would read her poem, An Ode to an Antique Olive Jar.
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3099 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com of Follow her on Twitter@MarilynMillerBJ