Buckeye Stroll

For nearly 40 years, June F. Kennedy dedicated her career to food science, particularly the feeding of OSU students. Kennedy, who received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition from Missouri State University, was hired in 1920 as an assistant professor in the Department of Home Economics. She also was appointed head of the Institution Management and Dietetics program at that time.

When Pomerene Hall was built in 1922, it included the Refectory, a campus restaurant also dedicated as a laboratory for institution management students. Kennedy took charge of the lab in 1934. She is credited with opening food service facilities to students in Campbell, Brown, Page and Arps Halls.

In 1946, Kennedy was appointed as the University’s first food-services director. At the same time, until her retirement in 1959, she also taught upper-level courses in institutional management. She died in 1991 at the age of 100.

On April 1, 1983, in recognition of her long years of service, the Board of Trustees renamed the Women’s Commons to the June F. Kennedy Commons. The commons was built in various stages between 1939 and 1940 to serve the women’s dorms of Bradley and Canfield halls. A final addition connected it to Mack Hall. In autumn 2011, the building re-opened after a year-long renovation.

In March 2012 it received a Silver rating in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Kennedy Commons, 1963 Environmental Design) program administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

more information:
John H. Herrick Archives: Kennedy Commons