Rob Hardin / Chief Photographer / rh124104@ohiou.edu

Although originally slated to reopen in July, the Athena Cinema will not be ready until students return for Fall Quarter.

“We would love to be showing movies right now, but there is just a lot left to do,” said Charles McWeeny, dean of the College of Fine Arts.

The building needs spruced up, the safety systems need to be tested and the operational and physical organization need to be determined, said Ruth Bradley, director of the Athens Center for Film and Video and the director of the theater.

“There is just more work to do than we anticipated,” Bradley said.

The College of Fine Arts took over management of the theater after deciding not to renew the theater’s contract with University Cinemas, in part to improve students’ academic needs, Bradley said.

“We want to integrate more carefully with students at Ohio University and with the community to provide quality cinematic experiences,” McWeeny said.

The university has outsourced management of the theater since purchasing and renovating it in 2001.

Bradley said she wants to make the theater more student-oriented and target things that students are doing in class, Bradley said.

“There won’t be much change except more marketing, more outreach and eventually the use of Bobcat Cash,” Bradley said.