diff --git a/ompi/mca/crcp/bkmrk/crcp_bkmrk_pml.c b/ompi/mca/crcp/bkmrk/crcp_bkmrk_pml.c
index 5484076e0f..7d5e480095 100644
--- a/ompi/mca/crcp/bkmrk/crcp_bkmrk_pml.c
+++ b/ompi/mca/crcp/bkmrk/crcp_bkmrk_pml.c
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
  * Copyright (c) 2010-2012 Oracle and/or its affiliates.  All rights reserved.
  * Copyright (c) 2012-2015 Los Alamos National Security, LLC. All rights
  *                         reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2015      Intel, Inc. All rights reserved.
  * $COPYRIGHT$
  *
  * Additional copyrights may follow
@@ -32,7 +33,6 @@
 
 #include "opal/util/opal_environ.h"
 #include "ompi/mca/mca.h"
-#include "opal/mca/base/base.h"
 #include "opal/mca/pmix/pmix.h"
 
 #include "ompi/request/request.h"
@@ -4440,7 +4440,7 @@ static int ft_event_exchange_bookmarks(void)
     /* Wait for all bookmarks to arrive */
     START_TIMER(CRCP_TIMER_CKPT_EX_WAIT);
     while( total_recv_bookmarks > 0 ) {
-        opal_event_loop(opal_event_base, OPAL_EVLOOP_NONBLOCK);
+        opal_event_loop(opal_sync_event_base, OPAL_EVLOOP_NONBLOCK);
     }
     total_recv_bookmarks = 0;
     END_TIMER(CRCP_TIMER_CKPT_EX_WAIT);
@@ -5227,7 +5227,7 @@ static int wait_quiesce_drain_ack(void)
             }
         }
 
-        opal_event_loop(opal_event_base, OPAL_EVLOOP_NONBLOCK);
+        opal_event_loop(opal_sync_event_base, OPAL_EVLOOP_NONBLOCK);
     }
 
     /* Clear the ack queue if it isn't already clear (it should already be) */
diff --git a/opal/mca/btl/openib/btl_openib_fd.c b/opal/mca/btl/openib/btl_openib_fd.c
index c2a82d9e36..98a9e4799f 100644
--- a/opal/mca/btl/openib/btl_openib_fd.c
+++ b/opal/mca/btl/openib/btl_openib_fd.c
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ static int service_pipe_cmd_add_fd(bool use_libevent, cmd_t *cmd)
     if (use_libevent) {
         /* Make an event for this fd */
         ri->ri_event_used = true;
-        opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &ri->ri_event, ri->ri_fd,
+        opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &ri->ri_event, ri->ri_fd,
                        ri->ri_flags | OPAL_EV_PERSIST, service_fd_callback,
                        ri);
         opal_event_add(&ri->ri_event, 0);
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ int opal_btl_openib_fd_init(void)
 
         /* Create a libevent event that is used in the main thread
            to watch its pipe */
-        opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &main_thread_event, pipe_to_main_thread[0],
+        opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &main_thread_event, pipe_to_main_thread[0],
                        OPAL_EV_READ | OPAL_EV_PERSIST,
                        main_thread_event_callback, NULL);
         opal_event_add(&main_thread_event, 0);
diff --git a/opal/mca/btl/openib/connect/btl_openib_connect_udcm.c b/opal/mca/btl/openib/connect/btl_openib_connect_udcm.c
index d3a68bed2e..9b6034e9fd 100644
--- a/opal/mca/btl/openib/connect/btl_openib_connect_udcm.c
+++ b/opal/mca/btl/openib/connect/btl_openib_connect_udcm.c
@@ -2212,7 +2212,7 @@ static void udcm_sent_message_constructor (udcm_message_sent_t *message)
 {
     memset ((char *)message + sizeof (message->super), 0,
             sizeof (*message) - sizeof (message->super));
-    opal_event_evtimer_set(opal_event_base, &message->event, udcm_send_timeout, message);
+    opal_event_evtimer_set(opal_sync_event_base, &message->event, udcm_send_timeout, message);
 }
 
 static void udcm_sent_message_destructor (udcm_message_sent_t *message)
diff --git a/opal/mca/btl/tcp/btl_tcp_component.c b/opal/mca/btl/tcp/btl_tcp_component.c
index beb2f95a2f..9275edf98b 100644
--- a/opal/mca/btl/tcp/btl_tcp_component.c
+++ b/opal/mca/btl/tcp/btl_tcp_component.c
@@ -818,7 +818,7 @@ static int mca_btl_tcp_component_create_listen(uint16_t af_family)
     /* register listen port */
 #if OPAL_ENABLE_IPV6
     if (AF_INET6 == af_family) {
-        opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &mca_btl_tcp_component.tcp6_recv_event,
+        opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &mca_btl_tcp_component.tcp6_recv_event,
                         mca_btl_tcp_component.tcp6_listen_sd,
                         OPAL_EV_READ|OPAL_EV_PERSIST,
                         mca_btl_tcp_component_accept_handler,
@@ -827,7 +827,7 @@ static int mca_btl_tcp_component_create_listen(uint16_t af_family)
     } else
 #endif
     {
-        opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &mca_btl_tcp_component.tcp_recv_event,
+        opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &mca_btl_tcp_component.tcp_recv_event,
                         mca_btl_tcp_component.tcp_listen_sd,
                         OPAL_EV_READ|OPAL_EV_PERSIST,
                         mca_btl_tcp_component_accept_handler,
@@ -1049,7 +1049,7 @@ static void mca_btl_tcp_component_accept_handler( int incoming_sd,
 
         /* wait for receipt of peers process identifier to complete this connection */
         event = OBJ_NEW(mca_btl_tcp_event_t);
-        opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &event->event, sd, OPAL_EV_READ, mca_btl_tcp_component_recv_handler, event);
+        opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &event->event, sd, OPAL_EV_READ, mca_btl_tcp_component_recv_handler, event);
         opal_event_add(&event->event, 0);
     }
 }
diff --git a/opal/mca/btl/tcp/btl_tcp_endpoint.c b/opal/mca/btl/tcp/btl_tcp_endpoint.c
index a6a284c3c1..2e29109240 100644
--- a/opal/mca/btl/tcp/btl_tcp_endpoint.c
+++ b/opal/mca/btl/tcp/btl_tcp_endpoint.c
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ static inline void mca_btl_tcp_endpoint_event_init(mca_btl_base_endpoint_t* btl_
     btl_endpoint->endpoint_cache_pos = btl_endpoint->endpoint_cache;
 #endif  /* MCA_BTL_TCP_ENDPOINT_CACHE */
 
-    opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &btl_endpoint->endpoint_recv_event,
+    opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &btl_endpoint->endpoint_recv_event,
                     btl_endpoint->endpoint_sd,
                     OPAL_EV_READ|OPAL_EV_PERSIST,
                     mca_btl_tcp_endpoint_recv_handler,
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ static inline void mca_btl_tcp_endpoint_event_init(mca_btl_base_endpoint_t* btl_
      * will be fired only once, and when the endpoint is marked as
      * CONNECTED the event should be recreated with the correct flags.
      */
-    opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &btl_endpoint->endpoint_send_event,
+    opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &btl_endpoint->endpoint_send_event,
                     btl_endpoint->endpoint_sd,
                     OPAL_EV_WRITE,
                     mca_btl_tcp_endpoint_send_handler,
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ void mca_btl_tcp_endpoint_accept(mca_btl_base_endpoint_t* btl_endpoint,
     assert(btl_endpoint->endpoint_sd_next == -1);
     btl_endpoint->endpoint_sd_next = sd;
 
-    opal_event_evtimer_set(opal_event_base, &btl_endpoint->endpoint_accept_event,
+    opal_event_evtimer_set(opal_sync_event_base, &btl_endpoint->endpoint_accept_event,
                            mca_btl_tcp_endpoint_complete_accept, btl_endpoint);
     opal_event_add(&btl_endpoint->endpoint_accept_event, &now);
 }
@@ -570,7 +570,7 @@ static void mca_btl_tcp_endpoint_connected(mca_btl_base_endpoint_t* btl_endpoint
     MCA_BTL_TCP_ENDPOINT_DUMP(1, btl_endpoint, true, "READY [endpoint_connected]");
 
     /* Create the send event in a persistent manner. */
-    opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &btl_endpoint->endpoint_send_event,
+    opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &btl_endpoint->endpoint_send_event,
                     btl_endpoint->endpoint_sd,
                     OPAL_EV_WRITE | OPAL_EV_PERSIST,
                     mca_btl_tcp_endpoint_send_handler,
diff --git a/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_component.c b/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_component.c
index c2bd218e2b..100f5651f2 100644
--- a/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_component.c
+++ b/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_component.c
@@ -972,7 +972,7 @@ static mca_btl_base_module_t** usnic_component_init(int* num_btl_modules,
     }
 
     /* start timer to guarantee synthetic clock advances */
-    opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &usnic_clock_timer_event,
+    opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &usnic_clock_timer_event,
                    -1, 0, usnic_clock_callback,
                    &usnic_clock_timeout);
     usnic_clock_timer_event_set = true;
diff --git a/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_endpoint.c b/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_endpoint.c
index 5891fc5568..40a1faee1b 100644
--- a/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_endpoint.c
+++ b/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_endpoint.c
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ static void endpoint_construct(mca_btl_base_endpoint_t* endpoint)
     OBJ_CONSTRUCT(&endpoint->endpoint_hotel, opal_hotel_t);
     opal_hotel_init(&endpoint->endpoint_hotel,
                     WINDOW_SIZE,
-                    opal_event_base,
+                    opal_sync_event_base,
                     mca_btl_usnic_component.retrans_timeout,
                     0,
                     opal_btl_usnic_ack_timeout);
diff --git a/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_module.c b/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_module.c
index 2b36af126b..94a87bcf10 100644
--- a/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_module.c
+++ b/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_module.c
@@ -2068,7 +2068,7 @@ static void init_async_event(opal_btl_usnic_module_t *module)
     }
 
     /* Get the fd to receive events on this device */
-    opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &(module->device_async_event), fd,
+    opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &(module->device_async_event), fd,
                    OPAL_EV_READ | OPAL_EV_PERSIST,
                    module_async_event_callback, module);
     opal_event_add(&(module->device_async_event), NULL);
diff --git a/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_stats.c b/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_stats.c
index 6e9051284e..1eca29e0bf 100644
--- a/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_stats.c
+++ b/opal/mca/btl/usnic/btl_usnic_stats.c
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ int opal_btl_usnic_stats_init(opal_btl_usnic_module_t *module)
         module->stats.timeout.tv_sec = mca_btl_usnic_component.stats_frequency;
         module->stats.timeout.tv_usec = 0;
 
-        opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &(module->stats.timer_event),
+        opal_event_set(opal_sync_event_base, &(module->stats.timer_event),
                        -1, EV_TIMEOUT | EV_PERSIST,
                        &usnic_stats_callback, module);
         opal_event_add(&(module->stats.timer_event),
diff --git a/opal/mca/event/base/event_base_frame.c b/opal/mca/event/base/event_base_frame.c
index c1713b1d09..3c1beb0fae 100644
--- a/opal/mca/event/base/event_base_frame.c
+++ b/opal/mca/event/base/event_base_frame.c
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ static int opal_event_base_close(void)
 /*
  * Globals
  */
-opal_event_base_t *opal_event_base=NULL;
+opal_event_base_t *opal_sync_event_base=NULL;
 
 static int opal_event_base_open(mca_base_open_flag_t flags)
 {
@@ -84,13 +84,13 @@ static int opal_event_base_open(mca_base_open_flag_t flags)
     opal_event_use_threads();
 
     /* get our event base */
-    if (NULL == (opal_event_base = opal_event_base_create())) {
+    if (NULL == (opal_sync_event_base = opal_event_base_create())) {
         return OPAL_ERROR;
     }
 
     /* set the number of priorities */
     if (0 < OPAL_EVENT_NUM_PRI) {
-        opal_event_base_priority_init(opal_event_base, OPAL_EVENT_NUM_PRI);
+        opal_event_base_priority_init(opal_sync_event_base, OPAL_EVENT_NUM_PRI);
     }
 
     return rc;
diff --git a/opal/mca/event/event.h b/opal/mca/event/event.h
index cc81bb9506..b0958b64e0 100644
--- a/opal/mca/event/event.h
+++ b/opal/mca/event/event.h
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 /*
  * Copyright (c) 2010      Cisco Systems, Inc.  All rights reserved.
  * Copyright (c) 2010      Oracle and/or its affiliates.  All rights reserved.
- * Copyright (c) 2014      Intel, Inc. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2014-2015 Intel, Inc. All rights reserved.
  * Copyright (c) 2015      Los Alamos National Security, LLC. All rights
  *                         reserved.
  *
diff --git a/opal/mca/event/external/external.h b/opal/mca/event/external/external.h
index 7ddb54645b..206fbbaa85 100644
--- a/opal/mca/event/external/external.h
+++ b/opal/mca/event/external/external.h
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 /*
  * Copyright (c) 2011-2013 Cisco Systems, Inc.  All rights reserved.
  * Copyright (c) 2013      Los Alamos National Security, LLC.  All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2015      Intel, Inc. All rights reserved.
  *
  * $COPYRIGHT$
  *
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ BEGIN_C_DECLS
 typedef struct event_base opal_event_base_t;
 typedef struct event opal_event_t;
 
-OPAL_DECLSPEC extern opal_event_base_t *opal_event_base;
+OPAL_DECLSPEC extern opal_event_base_t *opal_sync_event_base;
 
 #define OPAL_EV_TIMEOUT EV_TIMEOUT
 #define OPAL_EV_READ    EV_READ
diff --git a/opal/mca/event/libevent2022/libevent2022.h b/opal/mca/event/libevent2022/libevent2022.h
index 7c6706323e..5ab9492ab7 100644
--- a/opal/mca/event/libevent2022/libevent2022.h
+++ b/opal/mca/event/libevent2022/libevent2022.h
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ BEGIN_C_DECLS
 typedef struct event_base opal_event_base_t;
 typedef struct event opal_event_t;
 
-OPAL_DECLSPEC extern opal_event_base_t *opal_event_base;
+OPAL_DECLSPEC extern opal_event_base_t *opal_sync_event_base;
 
 #define OPAL_EV_TIMEOUT EV_TIMEOUT
 #define OPAL_EV_READ    EV_READ
diff --git a/opal/runtime/opal_cr.c b/opal/runtime/opal_cr.c
index 5fc619d607..bd75558e86 100644
--- a/opal/runtime/opal_cr.c
+++ b/opal/runtime/opal_cr.c
@@ -811,7 +811,7 @@ int opal_cr_coord(int state)
          * Otherwise it may/will use stale file descriptors which will disrupt
          * the intended users of the soon-to-be newly assigned file descriptors.
          */
-        opal_event_reinit(opal_event_base);
+        opal_event_reinit(opal_sync_event_base);
 
         /*
          * Flush if() functionality, since it caches system specific info.
diff --git a/opal/runtime/opal_progress.c b/opal/runtime/opal_progress.c
index d7ecf086d7..d0fe0d71b3 100644
--- a/opal/runtime/opal_progress.c
+++ b/opal/runtime/opal_progress.c
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ opal_progress(void)
                 event_progress_last_time = (num_event_users > 0) ?
                     now - event_progress_delta : now;
 
-                events += opal_event_loop(opal_event_base, opal_progress_event_flag);
+                events += opal_event_loop(opal_sync_event_base, opal_progress_event_flag);
         }
 
 #else /* OPAL_PROGRESS_USE_TIMERS */
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ opal_progress(void)
         if (OPAL_THREAD_ADD32(&event_progress_counter, -1) <= 0 ) {
                 event_progress_counter =
                     (num_event_users > 0) ? 0 : event_progress_delta;
-                events += opal_event_loop(opal_event_base, opal_progress_event_flag);
+                events += opal_event_loop(opal_sync_event_base, opal_progress_event_flag);
         }
 #endif /* OPAL_PROGRESS_USE_TIMERS */
 
diff --git a/orte/runtime/orte_init.c b/orte/runtime/orte_init.c
index aec3f428bf..bf6c6be6d6 100644
--- a/orte/runtime/orte_init.c
+++ b/orte/runtime/orte_init.c
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ int orte_init(int* pargc, char*** pargv, orte_proc_type_t flags)
          * start their progress thread in ess_base_std_app.c
          * at the appropriate point
          */
-        orte_event_base = opal_event_base;
+        orte_event_base = opal_sync_event_base;
     }
 
     /* initialize the RTE for this environment */
diff --git a/orte/tools/orte-server/orte-server.c b/orte/tools/orte-server/orte-server.c
index 55c9328e18..46ef0b9046 100644
--- a/orte/tools/orte-server/orte-server.c
+++ b/orte/tools/orte-server/orte-server.c
@@ -238,10 +238,10 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     /* Set signal handlers to catch kill signals so we can properly clean up
      * after ourselves.
      */
-    opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &term_handler, SIGTERM, OPAL_EV_SIGNAL,
+    opal_event_set(orte_event_base, &term_handler, SIGTERM, OPAL_EV_SIGNAL,
                    shutdown_callback, NULL);
     opal_event_add(&term_handler, NULL);
-    opal_event_set(opal_event_base, &int_handler, SIGINT, OPAL_EV_SIGNAL,
+    opal_event_set(orte_event_base, &int_handler, SIGINT, OPAL_EV_SIGNAL,
                    shutdown_callback, NULL);
     opal_event_add(&int_handler, NULL);