FAYETTEVILLE -- A new open-air seating and plaza area on the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus has been built as a gathering spot for members of historically Black fraternities and sororities.
The $820,000 project officially opens today with a planned dedication ceremony, UA spokesman John Thomas said.
The National Pan-Hellenic Council Garden is on a slope across Stadium Drive from Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Thomas said the site was selected by a group of current and former students, with money for the project coming from the university's reserve funds.
Rock-bench seating with grass between rows forms a rustic, theater-style setting, as the rows slope toward a small plaza area.
The uppermost tier has an outer wall with nine raised features, each installed with a plaque overlay that lists the founding dates of nine fraternal organizations often referred to collectively as the "Divine Nine."
"Not only do we have a space, but it is a space we can be proud of in a prime location," Madison Russell, president of UA's National Pan-Hellenic Council and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, said in a statement.