My family and I were passing through Bowling Green, Kentucky in the final days of long road trip. I had tried to keep myself on something of a work-like schedule in terms of when I went to bed and rose in the morning, and despite a long time on the road and in various hotels I was still getting up pretty early and before my sons who were very much enjoying their summer vacation. When we stopped in Bowling Green, we grabbed a room at a place near the Western Kentucky University campus, so I knew I would be getting up to take a walk around campus while my family slept. Despite my early rise and arrival on campus by 6am, it was hot and humid. In fact, it was a scorcher of a day. But the skies were clear, the sun was out, and the birds were singing. Thus, it was a perfect morning for a stroll on campus.
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I started my walk around campus at the Eva and Jim Martens Alumni Center, seen in the set below. The building was constructed to become the first purpose-built home for the alumni association which had previously been in the former president’s home. Flooding in the area delayed the project and it opened a few months behind schedule in April 2013. Formally dedicated on April 12th, the building was designed by RossTarrant Architects of Lexington and comes in 30,421 square feet. It cost $8.6 million, or just over $12 million today, to construct. The Martens have given to WKU for many years. Jim is an alumnus (Class of 1972) and he and Eva own a real estate investment firm. The building opened with a different name, the Augenstein Alumni Center. It was named for WKU alumnus (Class of 1981) Dale Augenstein, a restaurateur who has been active in the alumni association. Mr. Augenstein donated $1 million to support the construction of the building. It carried his name from 2013 until 2022. I am not sure why his name was removed. If you know, please leave a comment. RossTarrant also did the design work for Ogden College Hall (see below), Music Hall (see below), and the most recent renovation and addition to the Downing Student Union (see below) on campus.

One of the things I really liked about the building was the nod to history you see in the first photo. As noted in the second photo, the two stones inlayed in the building's entryway are historic to the campus. I love when places incorporate pieces like this. The MCV campus at the Virginia Commonwealth University where I worked for many years has a long history of reusing elements like this. It is a great way to pay homage to the past. The center also uses several of the WKU identity branding elements in a good way. The water feature has the stylized WKU built in on the building's side as seen in the third photo, the university's graphic which incorporates the Cherry Hall cupola (see below) is embedded in the handrails in front, and the university seal is etched into the building itself as seen in the fifth photo. Despite having three different elements like this, it is not over the top. Each is relatively small and subtle. The seventh photo is a view from across the street and Augenstein Alumni Plaza. The plaza is named for Dale Augenstein. The plaque you see in the eighth photo notes that it recognizes donors who gave during a campaign ending in 2012. I am not sure when the plaza opened, but it was obviously after that date.

​The statue you see in the seventh and ninth photo is the WKU mascot, Big Red. Big Red dates back to 1979. The athletics programs at WKU are known as the Hilltoppers, owing to the geography of the region and to the fact that the original portion of campus sits upon a hill overlooking the adjacent area. Despite the fact that the teams had been known as the Hilltoppers for decades, the university was without a mascot. A number of things had been tried out as a potential mascot, but nothing took hold. In the fall of 1979, a group of administrators and athletics officials decided to come up with something. The group was not successful at coming up with something, and at that point they engaged the support of WKU senior Ralph Carey. Carey was from Cincinnati and had worked at the Kings Island amusement park where costumed characters strolled the grounds and entertained park goers. Readers who are old enough may recall a Brady Bunch episode where the family travels to the park for Mr. Brady’s work and Greg ends up donning such an outfit. Carey went in that direction and made a sketch of what would become Big Red. The team liked it and it became the choice for the new mascot on September 21, 1979/ The only name they thought fit was Big Red. The cost of the first costume was $900 (just under $4k today), which was jointly funded by the university, the athletics department, and the alumni association. The Hannah Barbera company in Los Angeles built the suit, and it debuted on December 8, 1979 in the first home basketball game of the season. The Hilltoppers beat Florida A&M that day 87 to 60 in front of a crowd 10,300.

The set below gives two views of Van Meter Hall as well as an indication as to why the university athletics teams are known as the Hilltoppers. ​The current Van Meter is the second structure to carry the name. It opened in 1911, the work of architect Brinton B. Davis. As originally constructed, Van Meter had an enormous auditorium capable of seating 2,000 people. For decades, it was the site of the required daily chapel for WKU students. I was not able to get into the building and cannot confirm it still has this space. The building cost $147,000 to construct, which is roughly $5 million in today’s value. The name is taken from Captain Charles J. Vanmeter, a Bowling Green native who donated funds for the creation of the original Van Meter Hall. Vanmeter’s father owned a store in town in which he worked in his earlier years. He went into business with his brother and a man whose last name was Leiter with a riverboat. The business flourished, eventually being named the Bowling Green Navigation Company. 

The set below begins with photos of Gordon Wilson Hall. The building opened as the WKU library in 1927 and would remain the home of the university’s collection until 1965. It was designed by architect Brinton B. Davis who designed Van Meter Hall. It cost $200,000 to construct (which is about $3.5 million in today’s money). The stone for the building’s façade was quarried in Warren County Kentucky. It didn’t get its current name until the library moved out and it was transitioned to its current state as an academic building. It is named in honor of Alexander Gordon Wilson. Wilson began teaching at WKU in 1912 after teaching in public schools for a number of years. He had arrived on campus in 1908 as a student, although he would complete his education at Indiana University while on the WKU faculty. Indeed, he had been on faculty for about seven years when he completed his baccalaureate degree from IU in 1919. He also completed his master’s degree (Class of 1924) and doctorate (Class of 1930) there. He advanced through the faculty ranks during this time and became chair of the Department of English in 1928, some two years prior to completing his doctorate. He would remain chair until 1959. One of his sons, Gordon Wilson Jr. also joined the WKU faculty and was also a department chair, in this case of the Department of Chemistry. One of the most touching things about life in higher education I have read was a quote of his appearing in Lowell H. Harrison’s book “Western Kentucky University”. About his life, Wilson remarked “When I try to separate my life from that of the college I have great difficulty, for both of them have run along together so long that they seem to be one instead of two” (p.25). WKU would rename the building in honor of Wilson on May 13, 1969. He passed away on April 12, 1970. 

The first four photos are of the front façade from a number of different angles. I love the classic look of the building and it looked remarkable in the early morning sun. I couldn't decide which of the many photos I took to use, so you get four of them. In the first two you can also see the university's entryway sign sign. I like the fact that it is not too big so as to not take away from the impressive view of the building. The fifth photo is the backside of the building. The statue you see in the sixth photo is called Trust. It shows two dancers in action, with the female figure being held in a position which requires faith in her partner to ensure her safety. It is the work of Arvada, Colorado based artist Kendra Fleischman. Another of her pieces is seen below. Trust was installed in June 2008. As you can see from the last photo, the site was the home of Fort Albert Sidney Johnston during the Civil War.

The next set of photos all center around Cherry Hall. Before getting into the building, a little history is in order. As is so often the case, the history of WKU is that of a meandering river, with various streams coming together to form the current flow. As an institution, WKU refers to 1906 as the date of its founding, but constituent elements of the current university go back much further. The oldest component of the current institution was the Glasgow Normal and Business College. Founded in 1876 in the eponymous town, it was one of several small schools of this type cropping up in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the late 1800’s. It moved to Bowling Green in 1884 and changed its name to the Southern Normal School and Business College. Meanwhile, in Bowling Green yet another institution was being formed. In 1877, Ogden College was created thanks to the bequest of Robert W. Ogden who provided his entire estate to form a school for the free education of the young men of Warrant County. The campus of Ogden , some seven acres, is today contained within the campus of WKU. In 1890, another private college was formed called Potter College. Potter would eventually close, and as such it was not a direct progenitor to WKU. However, years later the institution would close and in 1909 WKU bought the former college’s property and buildings. I will come back to that point in a moment. But first, I will go back to the history of the Southern Normal School and Business College by way of an introduction to Henry Cherry. 

Born on November 16, 1864, Cherry grew up in on a farm near Bowling Green. He was the seventh of nine sons. After writing that, I just have to say God bless his mother. I imagine she would have loved to have had a daughter in that mix. Cherry received a limited education in his early years, the family farm and the necessity to help his family limited his time in school when even then when the school year was shorter than today. He and one of his brothers sold potatoes and axe handles from an ox cart and thanks to these efforts he was able to enroll in the private Southern Normal School. He saved money by renting a room off campus and by cooking his own food. His older brother Thomas “T.C. Cherry” also attended the school, and they subsequently became teachers. In 1892, they purchased the school. Cherry would run the school as its chief administrator. As was the case at many institutions in those days, particularly normal schools, the institution offered both collegiate and high school-level training. The school would continue on its own for the next fourteen years and along the way the Cherry brothers sold off the business component of the school when Southern was acquired by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The business unit would continue as another private institution for decades to come alternately being called the Bowling Green Business University and Bowling Green College of Commerce. More on that below. 

Cherry was a major advocate for education at all levels and wanted to see improvements in both the K-12 and higher education sectors in Kentucky. Indeed, he would eventually serve two terms as president of the Kentucky Education Association. Part of this was his lobbying to create additional normal schools within the state. He sought to have the state over the training of teachers. Over time, the push to create more public normal schools took hold, and Cherry offered to sell the state the Southern Normal School and all of its buildings and properties which was then located in a different spot on College Street in Bowling Green. The state agreed and in 1906 acquired the Southern Normal School and subsequently renamed it Western Kentucky State Normal School. Classes would begin in January 1907 with the new name in Southern’s existing facilities. Cherry would become the new school’s first president. Two years later, it would purchase the former Potter College and relocate to what had previously been called Vinegar Hill. An aside here. The site was known as Vinegar Hill prior to Potter College’s creation thanks to a lady who made moonshine there in a clandestine still. She sold the stuff around town calling it vinegar to avoid the illegal aspects of her business. It would later take on the more acceptable College Heights name. 

Cherry would remain WKU’s president thirty-one years, dying while in office in 1937. Along the way, the institution changed names a few times. First, thanks to moving from offering two-year degrees to full-on baccalaureate degrees the name became Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College in 1922. In 1927, WKU merged with the Ogden College, which sat adjacent to the campus. In 1930, the name changed to Western Kentucky State Teachers College and the next year it began offering graduate study and the conferring of master’s degrees. In 1948, the name changed to western Kentucky State College. Long after Cherry had passed, the university would reacquire the part of the former Southern Normal School Cherry had sold. In 1963, WKU acquired the Bowling Green College of Commerce. By 1966, the institution had grown to offer many graduate degrees across numerous fields and hence the name was changed once again to its current Western Kentucky University.

Cherry is rightfully seen as the force behind the creation of the university. His impact was like no other, and he had his hands on the creation of much of what is the university today. The institution grew under his guidance and although not without setbacks it was generally a very prolific three decades under his leadership. It is only natural that at least one building on campus would bear his name.

The building was desperately needed. It was meant to be a replacement for a building constructed in 1888 called Recitation Hall. That former building was in heavy use, and even the attic was used for classroom space. It was so crowded during the day, the hallways were virtually impassable. In addition to being overworked, the old building was outdated having only two restrooms and no modern amenities. By 1933, it was in disrepair and considered a fire hazard. President Cherry sought funds for a new building from the Public Works Administration (PWA), the Depression era federal agency that funneled money to projects like this for the purpose of stimulating the economy. The university's first application was denied, leaving Cherry furious, particularly since other colleges in the state received PWA funding. He would not be deterred, and enlisted the support of the governor and Kentucky's federal representatives. By the close of 1935, funding had been secured. The cornerstone was laid in a ceremony on October 27, 1936 which was broadcast on radio. It would be completed in 1937 and would welcome classes for the first time on September 22, 1937. Cherry would not live to see it open. He passed away on August 1, 1937. Fittingly, the building would carry his name in tribute from the day it opened.

The first two photos are the front façade of the building. The third is a close up of one of the two bas-reliefs on that side of the building. The next five photos are close ups of the state of Cherry in front of the structure. The statue is the work of Chicago-based artist Lorado Taft. Taft was a prolific sculptor and his works can be found all around the U.S. Pertinent to this blog, readers may know his work at other colleges and universities. His statue of George Washington stands near the Odegaard Undergraduate Library at the University of Washington, and two of his pieces, the Fountain of Creation and Alma Mater both stand on the campus of the University of Illinois. The piece was, as such pieces frequently are, initially developed as a clay model in 1934. Charry did not want it cast in bronze or erected until after his passing. Both men passed away before its installation. Indeed, Taft passed away in 1936 before the clay model was used to cast the bronze piece seen here.

There is a time capsule enclosed in the base of the statue. What is interesting about it is that we know exactly what went in the capsule because the people at WKU decided not merely to keep a list, but to keep a set of duplicates in the Kentucky Museum. Among the items included are a 1924 WKU yearbook, various newspapers, photos, commencement programs, and university documents including the contract for the statue’s creation. The collection in the Kentucky Museum has all of these items in a copy of the copper box in which the documents are stored in the statue.

The last photo is the rear ​façade of the building.

Next are three views of College High Hall. ​The building, which was designed by the Nevin-Wischmeyer & Morgan architectural firm, was completed in 1925 at a cost of $243,678 (just under $4.5 million in today’s dollars). As the name suggests, it was the home of WKU’s training school. It served in that role from 1925 until 1969. It then underwent a renovation costing about $676,000 in 1972 (that would be about $5 million today). It was then named Science and Technology Hall. It underwent its most recent renovation in 2009 and was rededicated College High Hall in 2010.

The next set of photos are a number of buildings that are located on the former site of Ogden College. As noted above, Ogden was acquired by WKU in 1923. To this day, the sciences at WKU are housed in the Ogden College of Science & Engineering, and the buildings in this set all contain units which are a part of that college. 

The first four photos show different views of the Hardin Planetarium. Hardin was built as part of the Kelly Thompson Hall complex (see below) and was completed in 1967. It was formally dedicated on October 13, 1967. It is named in honor of Hardin Cherry Thompson, son of then WKU President Kelly Thompson (see below) and student at WKU who died during his senior year in 1963. He had been struggling with brain cancer and passed away on October 5, 1963, at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (then Vanderbilt Hospital) in Nashville. The planetarium can seat 200 people.

The fifth photo is a historic marker for the former Ogden College. The sixth photo is a relatively new Ogden College Hall. A groundbreaking ceremony for the building was held on April 5, 2016. It was completed in late 2017 and formally dedicated in early 2018. Designed by the architecture firm RossTarrant Architects of Lexington, Kentucky, the building has 82,500 square feet of space. It has dozens of wet labs, offices, and a 300-seat auditorium. It cost $40 million to construct. The building sits on the former site of one of the wings of Kelly Thompson Hall. It is a LEED® Certified Gold building. It was the first WELL V2 Gold educational laboratory in the U.S.

The seventh and eighth photos are of Kelly Thompson Hall. What you see here is part of a complex of two buildings constructed during the 1960’s. The original portion of the building was completed in 1960. This was razed in 2015 to make way for Ogden College Hall. The bit you see here was completed in 1967 and was originally known as the Central Wing of the complex. It was dedicated on October 14, 1967. It sits on the site of the old Ogden College Building. The building takes its name from WKU’s third president. Thompson first went to WKU as a student. In the fall of 1928, he matriculated on a football scholarship. A shoulder injury before the season even started meant the scholarship would be revoked and he anticipated dropping out of school. Coach E.A. Diddle (see below) found Thompson sitting on the stairs of a now razed building looking sad and asked him what was going. Thompson replied he was about to leave the school since he could not afford it. Diddle took him into downtown and personally signed a note for a loan of $25 so Thompson could stay in school. He worked for WKU in outreach to help pay back the loan and continue his studies. He excelled at this work, and over time became ingrained in the hierarchy of the school despite being an undergraduate. President Cherry became a mentor and a friend over the course of his studies. His work slowed his education, but he graduated from WKU with both his bachelor’s (Class of 1935) and master’s (Class of 1953). He would stay at WKU with a couple of exceptions for his entire career, working his way through the administrative ranks. His ascension to the presidency was not without some issue. He did not have a doctorate, and many believed that such a degree was a requirement for the position (he did have an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Morris Harvey College, now the University of Charleston in West Virginia). He was also Catholic, and some felt that this was not acceptable in a public college in 1950’s Kentucky. None the less, he took the reigns of the university and saw it well into the Baby Boom generation and the massive increase in the size of the university during a heady period in WKU’s history.

The ninth and tenth photos do not show what I wanted to photo very well. Behind the Hardin Planetarium is a feature in the ground that is made in the shape of Kentucky. You will have to enlarge both photos and view them together to get the idea. Thanks to my having only my phone with which to take photos and the fact it is in such a position that getting the correct perspective meant that you only get these poor views.

Finally, this set concludes with ​Snell Hall. ​This is not the first building to carry the Snell Hall moniker. The original Snell Hall opened in 1924 and would eventually be razed in October 2005. Both buildings take their name from Perry Snell, an alumnus of Ogden College who gave funds to construct the original building. I really like the fact that although the original building was scrapped the name remains. Colleges frequently get rid of names with buildings, opting to rename structures in honor of donors of the new building. It is natural to honor someone who donates large amounts of money, but the original names were given out of respect and honor of either donations or dedication to the place. It seems to me that someone worth recognizing is worth remembering.

The next set are of two buildings in the same area as those in the last set but for which I was unable to find out information. The first photo is the Engineering and Biological Sciences Building. I was not actually able to find out anything about this building.  The second photo is the ​​Environmental Sciences and Technology Building. Construction on the 102,000 square foot building was completed in 1976. It was designed by architect Frank Cain. The art piece you see in the third photo stands next to the building and, as noted in the fourth photo, is the work of WKU students. The last photo in this set shows a duo of greenhouses which stand behind the building.

The next two photos are of the E.A. Diddle Memorial Park. ​The park is named for Edgar Allen Diddle, long serving WKU men’s basketball coach for whom the WKU arena is also named (see below). Diddle came to WKU in 1922 as athletic director and the coach of several sports. He shed the other roles over time but led the basketball program until 1964. His overall record at WKU was 759 wins and 302 losses, a 72%-win rate. During his time as head coach, the Hilltoppers went to three NCAA tournaments, eight NIT tournaments, and ten Ohio Valley Conference championships. He passed away on January 2, 1970.

The set below is of a type of building I did not expect to find on the campus - a log cabin type building. In fact, there are two such structures on the WKU campus. This one is ​Faculty House, and it sits directly behind Cherry Hall. ​When I saw the Faculty House, I assumed it was much older than it is. It opened in 1921, and although that means the building is 103 years old, I had assumed it dated back to the 19th Century. The Senior Classes of 1920 and 1921 raised the funds for the construction of the building. The logs were harvested on campus and was built largely by the students and faculty members Billy Craig, L.Y. Lancaster, George Page, and H.M. Yarbrough. It cost about $6,000 to build, which is only $94.5k today. When it opened, it was called Cedar House. It was first used as a social center but only for two years before being tasked with being a library in 1923. In 1928, it was converted for use as the student center on campus and served in that role until 1959. It was renovated that year and was renamed Faculty House. It has had a variety of uses since, but as you can see is currently in a state of renovation.

The last photo in this set has something in it I have never seen before. If you enlarge the photo, you will just be able to make out an albino squirrel. Before the day was out, I would see two more on the other side of campus. I imagine the recessive trait has become more common as the families of squirrels living in the area intermingle.

The next set contains photos of the various sights you will encounter on the crest of the hill behind Gordon Wilson Hall and Cherry Hall. As you can see, there are various paths, adornments, and features in this area which add to the feel of the area. I will spend time on only one of these elements. The last three photos feature a monopteros. The neoclassical structure is reminiscent of the Old Well at the University of North Carolina and I imagine that is on purpose. A water tower once stood in this general vicinity.

The set below gives two views of the front of Potter Hall. ​Potter opened as a dorm for women in 1921 and stayed in that role with a few years serving male students until 1994 when it was converted into office space. Rumor has it that the building is haunted by a student who died by suicide in the basement in 1979. Her ghost would apparently communicate via a Ouija board to students living in the building when it was a dorm, and still roams the halls after its conversion to administrative space. The building was designed by the D.X. Murphy and Company, and Brashear and Cohill architecture firms. It cost $233,407 (about $3.7 million in today’s value) to build. It is named in honor of J. Whit Potter, a member of the WKU Board for sixteen years.

The next set are photos taken as I walked from the traditional core of campus to the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center. The first and photo has the second of Arvada, Colorado-based artist Kendra Fleischman's art pieces on campus. The bronze casting is call Origin and it was installed in June 2008. I really like how they painted the crosswalk to include the WKU logo in it in front of this piece! The third and fourth photos are of a statue by Illinois-based artist Jim Budish called Chauncey Too. The piece was installed in October 2007.

When I saw first saw the William "Gander" Terry Colonnade, seen in the fifth photo, and the amphitheater beyond (photos seven and eight), I thought they were constructed as part of the building beyond. However, this is not the case. The area, once a limestone quarry, is the site of the university's former football stadium. The colonnade was one the entrance to the stadium. It was designed by architect Brinton Davis, the creator of many of the structures on campus. It was built in 1927 and formally dedicated on October 8, 1927. It cost $50,000 to construct, or about $906k in today's money. The seats in the amphitheater are the original football stadium seating. As you can see in the sixth photo, Terry was a WKU football player and coach. The colonnade was named in his honor on July 23, 2003.

The last four photos in this set show the front side of the ​Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center. Construction on the Wilson Center began in 1970, and it was completed in 1973. A formal dedication ceremony was held on October 13. 1973. The building is fairly representative of structures from that era in its use of bare concrete for the exterior. It is a large structure coming in at 174,000 square feet. Construction of the building, which was designed by the Ryan Associated Architects firm, cost about $4 million (that would be worth about $32.5 million in today’s value). You can view four of the original blueprints completed by Ryan Associated Architects in 1969 for the building here. In addition to the Wilson Fine Arts Center, the firm also designed the L.T. Smith Stadium (see below), the Hugh Poland Hall dorm (see below), and the campus master plan of 1973. The firm also completed a master plan for the campus of the University of Louisville in 1974. The building was damaged by two fires, one in 1978 and another in 1984. The first was accidental, but the second was set by an arsonist. Wilson was a WKU alumnus Class of 1931) who stayed on at the university as a faculty member until 1958. He was the first chair of the Department of Art. The fountain has been there from the beginning, but it looked quite a bit different in the past. It was redesigned as part of WKU's 2006 Centennial celebration. It is actually a piece of art that contains an element that will not reveal itself until 2106. The fountain is called Time and Place - Compass and Clock and it is the work of Kim Chalmers. Chalmers was head of the WKU Department of Art at the time, and he designed the piece to reflect the university in the past, the present, and in the future. It will be difficult to see, but there brushed aluminum dots throughout the piece. These dots will correspond with the alignment of the stars over the campus in 2106 when the university celebrates its bicentennial. I didn't know that during my visit, but loved the idea when I read about it later. I will not be around then, but it is really cool to think that the piece will mirror the stars' placement then. If they maintain it, it will be neat for future generations to refer to it as "once having matched" the placement of the stars.

The set below gives you views of two libraries on campus. The first five are of the Commons at Helm Library. Based on the outward appearance of this building, you might get the idea that it is relatively new. Looks can be deceiving and in this case very much so. The Commons opened in 1931, and it did not open as a library or study space. Indeed, it was a gym. You read that correctly. It was the Health and Physical Education Building when it opened and it was the home of the Hilltoppers basketball team until the Diddle Arena (see below) opened in 1963. It was then that the space was renovated and renamed the Margie Helm Library. Even then, it does not look like a building from 1963, at least to me. That is because the space recently underwent a significant renovation completed in 2022. The work completely changed the look of the building. The 1960’s era renovation blocked off the interior of what was the old playing court and divided the structure into three floors of space in a traditional layout. The renovation reopened the space, returned skylights that had been removed in the 1960’s, and added the glass façade you see in these photos. The design work was headed by the Luckett and Farley architectural firm in collaboration with the Gensler architect group. Both firms have designed many academic structures at colleges and universities all over the country as well as overseas. Gensler completed the most recent WKU campus master plan. Their combined work resulted in the Commons receiving the 2022 AIA Merit Awards for Excellence in Architectural Design. The total cost of the renovation came in at about $35 million. It was closed, so I am not able to show you what the inside looks like and that is a pity because it seems quite impressive. You can learn more about the project and see renderings of the inside here. 

As you can see in the sixth photo, the Commons is attached to another building. That building is the Raymond Cravens Library. Cravens opened in 1970 as the home to both the graduate library and the offices of the graduate school. The nine-story structure was designed by architect Frank Cain, who also worked on the Diddle Arena and the Environmental Sciences and Technology Building. There was once a swimming pool on this site. The building has 104,723 square feet of space and originally cost $2.4 million to construct (which is about $20.6 million in 2024 value). Its eponymous namesake was a two-time alumnus (Classes of 1952 and 1955) and long serving faculty member and administrator. After completing his doctoral studies at the University of Kentucky, Cravens returned to WKU to be on faculty in the Department of History where he taught classes in political science. He was named Vice President for Academic Affairs in 1959 and Dean of Public Service and International Programs in 1977. He retired from WKU in 1991. Interestingly, the building was named in his honor prior to completion and long before he left the university. Typically, places do not name buildings in honor of living employees despite the fact that they routinely name things for living donors. The last three photos of this set show the building from different angles. The tree you see growing between sections of the raised walkway has been there from the beginning. There was talk of cutting it down, but Cain simply designed the walkway around it.

The first photo in the next set is ​Music Hall. It is a LEED® Silver certified building. You can see photos of the interior of the building here. It was designed by the architecture firm RossTarrant. It was completed in January, 2012 and was formally dedicated that May. The remaining photos in this set are of Finley C. Grise Hall, home to the WKU Gordon Ford College of Business. Grise joined the faculty in 1913. He would become a dean in 1927 and continue in that role for thirty-two years. He would stay at the university until his retirement in 1959. Construction on the building began in late 1964 and would be completed in 1966. It was dedicated in his honor on October 14, 1967. It cost $1,778,000 to construct, which is roughly $17.8 million in 2024 dollars. The last photo is a statue in the trees near Grise. The name of the piece is Woman Walking, the work of Kansas City-based artist Tom Corbin. It was installed in 2006.

The set below begins with ten photos taken along the Centennial Mall. As one might expect, the mall is named for WKU's centennial which was celebrated in 2006. The information I will provide on many of these buildings is a bit muddled for a couple of reasons. First, the collection of buildings go back to the 1950's and at the time they were constructed they were connected. So, what appears to wings of the same building were from the beginning considered different structures with unique names. Second, over time, these buildings were renovated and as that took place names changed. Information available in the various sources I read in preparation for this post had varying information that was due likely both to the fact that the names changed over time and that people frequently use the common names for things and not the official name. I imagine some of the information I provide below is inaccurate for one or both of these reasons. As best as I can tell, these structures were four independent buildings carrying the names of their relative position on the quad: North Hall, East Hall, South Hall, and West Hall. All were designed to be dorms. At some point, the names were combined such as they are here as is the case with Southwest Hall. I believe Southwest is the current official name for what historical documents called South Hall and West Hall. Again, these are assumptions on my part.

None the less, I will present the information on these buildings as best as I understand it beginning East Hall/North Hall/Northeast Hall/Munday Hall which is seen in the first two photos below. East, along with North Hall, was completed in 1955 and 1957 respectively. It cost $1,350,000 to complete the combined structures, or about $15.1 million in today's dollars. At some point, it was renamed Munday in honor of Margaret Munday, the first African American student to take classes at WKU. Ms. Munday had previously attended Kentucky State University, but transferred to WKU for the Fall semester of 1956. She officially desegregated WKU on September 15, 1956. She was a music major and a member of the university's chorus. After graduating in 1960, she went on to teach in public schools in the state until her retirement in 1995. When it opened, East housed 222 people in 109 rooms. North was a bit smaller, having only three floors compared to East's four. It could accommodate 200 residents.
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The next five photos are of the currently named Southwest Hall, which I assume is what historical documents called South Hall and West Hall. If I understand it correctly, the South portion opened in 1960 and the West portion in 1961. Both are four story structures which could accommodate 208 residents, although West was constructed with a small dining facility. The globe is the work of artist Roger Loyson of Bemidji, Minnesota. Called With International Reach, the piece was installed in 2008 and reflects WKU's commitment to have impact across the globe. The piece actually sits at the correct angle as the earth sits in the heavens. As you can see from the sixth photo, the area where the piece sits is dedicated to former Dean of Students Charles A. Keown.

The next three photos are of a building across the street from Centennial Mall and a relatively new addition to campus, the Honors College and International Center (HCIC) Building. As the name suggests, it is home to the international programs and the Mahurin Honors College. Designed by RossTarrant Architects, the building was completed in 2015 and officially dedicated on October 27, 2015. It cost just over $22 million to construct. It has a variety of classrooms, study spaces, offices, lounges, meeting space, and a coffee shop. 

The tenth photo is of Colonial Court. It doesn't look like a court in this photo because you can only see one building. A number of smaller structures were constructed in the area in 1936 (some sources say 1934) by none other than President Cherry. The bungalows were to be leased out and provide him with a source of income during his retirement and he was going to live in one. He called the development Colonial Court. Of course, he passed away in office and never had the chance to take part in the plan. The university acquired the various houses in 2009 after which they renovated and modernized them for use by visiting scholars, particularly those from abroad. The larger building you see in the photo houses the university's Confucius center hence the gate and bell you see in the eleventh photo.

Next door to Colonial Court is the ​Adams-Whitaker Student Publications Center. David B. Whitaker became the director of WKU's publications from 1970. He stayed at WKU until his retirement in 1984. Robert "Bob" Adams, also known as "Mr. A" worked at WKU as a faculty member in communications and was the director of WKU's publications following David Whitaker. He was also an alumnus of the university (Class of 1965). A groundbreaking for the building occurred in November 2006 and it was dedicated the following fall. It cost $1.7 million, or about $2.6 million today, to construct.

The set below begins with three photos of ​Jody Richards Hall. The building is the work of the Louisville-based architecture firm Arrasmith, Judd, and Rapp. The groundbreaking for the building occurred on April 6, 2001 and it was completed in the spring of 2003. The process was fraught with troubles and delays. It was to have started construction in 2000 and completed within two years. It was finally completed in 2003 and officially dedicated on October 22, 2004. The working name of the structure was the Journalism and Technology Building, but by the time construction began this had changed to the Mass Media and Technology Center or Mass Media and Technology Hall. It would not get its current name for over a decade. On April 28, 2017, the WKY board voted to name the building in honor of Richards and an official ceremony was held on May 4, 2017. Richards was a Kentucky native who was an English instructor at WKU. He was a member of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's House of Representatives from 1976 to 2018. The first photo is the front of the building and photos two and three are of the north side of the building.

Photos four through seven give you a number of views of the Academic Complex building. Construction on the building began in 1967. It was formally dedicated on October 10, 1970. It was designed by architects Ben Johnson and Frederick St. Clair of Owensboro, Kentucky. The building comes in at 118,728 square feet and cost $2.7 million (about $25.5 million today) to complete. The sculpture you see in the fifth photo is called Opening of My Soul, the work of Colorado-based artist David Norrie. The piece, made of steel, was completed in 2005 and installed on the WKU campus in 2007.

The last two photos are of Gary A. Ransdell Hall. The building, another of architects RossTarrant works on campus, is the home to the WKU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Work on the building began in 2008 and it was completed in December 2010. It was dedicated the following spring. The structure comes in 120,000 square feet and cost $35 million to complete (just over $51 million in 2024). It was initially called the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Building. It received its current name in January 2011. Ransdell is the former president of WKU, serving as the institution's ninth president for twenty years from 1997 until 2017. He was also a two-time alumnus (Classes of 1973 and 1974). He went to Indiana University to complete an EdD. 

The first photo below is the Health Services Building. Just about all colleges and universities have one of these. You tend not to think about them that much unless you live on campus in which case it is the place where you get your primary care. I was not able to find out anything about the building, but it seems relatively new.

The last two photos in this set are of a new building that will soon grace the campus. ​As you can see from these photos, the new building is going to be the home of the College of Business. The building was designed the Gensler architectural firm which also did the Commons at Helm Library detailed above. It is going to be a large structure, with some 113,000 square feet of space. Costs could rise, of course, but it is anticipated that it will cost about $100 million to complete. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 14, 2023 and they hope to open the building in the fall of 2025. It sits where a former dorm, Tate Page Hall, once stood.

The following photos are of some of the dorms on campus. The first photo below is of ​Regents Hall, one of the residence halls on campus. It opened in 2021 and can accommodate 375 residents. It was designed by the architectural firm Sewell and Sewell of Bowling Green. It is actually two connected buildings. Together, they have some 231,554 square feet of space. 

The second photo has Regents Hall on the left and the Raymond B. Preston Health and Activities Center on the right. The building in the center of this photo is Hugh Poland Hall. It is a residence hall built to cope with the massive influx of students during the 1960’s. The nine-story building was designed by the Louisville-based architectural firm A.B. Ryan Partnerships. There are some 79,461 square feet of space in the building which can accommodate 440 students. Opening in 1968, it cost $1,486,238 to build (about $14 million in 2024). Poland was a WKU alumnus (Class of 1934) who went on to a successful career in Major League Baseball. He played with the San Francisco Giants, the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Boston Braves during his career. He finished his career as the manager for the Giants. He served on the WKU board from 1957 until 1969.

The third photo has captures three dorms. On the left is Regents Hall and on the right is Hugh Poland. The large tower you see in the middle of this photo is the Pearce-Ford Tower. It is a massive structure. Standing ten stories and coming in at a whopping 180,400 square feet, the building opened in 1970. As originally designed, it could accommodate 920 residents. It is the work of Ryan Associated Architects and cost $4.3 million to construct (that’s about $40 million in today’s value). The Pearce portion of the name is in honor of William Pearce. He was president of Ogden College from 1913 to 1920. He left that position to become the director of WKU’s extension program. He stayed with WKU until his retirement in 1959. He was also the father-in-law to WKU president Kelly Thompson. The other part of the name comes from Marion Conner Ford, a faculty member and department chair at WKU from 1913 until 1940.

The sculpture in the fourth photo is by artist Kevin Robb of Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Called Tango, the piece was installed in 2008. The building behind it and the last two photos of this set is the Raymond B. Preston Health and Activities Center. Construction on the building began in 1990 and was completed in 1992. It was formally dedicated on August 23, 1992. Designed by architect Rick Coltharp, the 112,000 square foot building cost $12 million to construct (nearly $29 million today). It takes its name from Raymond Bart Preston, a WKU alumnus (Class of 1940). He founded the chemical distribution company PB&S Chemical. He donated funds to help construct the facility. 

The next set is of Guthrie Tower and the statue of Robert "Bobby" H. Guthrie which sits adjacent to where the new Business Building is being constructed. The tower stands 125.5 feet and is a memorial to those veterans who have served in combat. Meant to be a place of contemplation and thanks to those who served in combat, the tower, statue, and plaza were made possible by a $1.8 million gift from Lowell Guthrie, Bobby' younger brother. Bobby joined the service in 1947 at age seventeen and was sent to Korea during the war. He was killed in action in 1952. The cupola at the top of the tower harkens back to the Cherry Hall cupola. In addition to have four clock faces, the tower has a forty-seven bell carillon. The bells were made by the Paccard Bell Foundary in Lac D-Annecy, France. The company has been in business for more than 300 years. The bells collectively weight around 25,000 points, the largest one has a 59-inch diameter and weighs 4,630 pounds. The bells can be played manually or by computer. One of the bells has Bobby Guthrie’s name etched on it, and the rest have the names of his buddies from the service. I love the images etched into the granite. It is a great memorial. The statue Sergeant First Class Guthrie was created by Russ Faxon, an artist based in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. The tower and all of its elements was dedicated on May 6, 2002.

The set below provides a number of views of the exterior and interior of the Downing Student Union. Originally opened in 1970, the Downing Union takes its name from WKU’s fourth president, Dero G. Downing. Downing was a two-time WKU alumnus (Classes of 1943 and 1947). He served in the Navy during World War II and returned to Bowling Green after the war to teach at the university’s training high school. He was named director of the school in 1956. He took his first role with the university proper in 1959 when he was named registrar. He moved up to be Director of Admissions in 1962, then Dean of Business Affairs, and then Vice President for Administrative Affairs in 1965. He was named president of the university in 1969 and held the position until he retired in 1979. 

The building was originally designed by Owensboro, Kentucky based architects Ben Johnson and Frederick St. Clair. It was formally dedicated on October 10, 1970. It came in at 172,000 in its original configuration and cost $4.1 million to build, which is roughly $35.2 million in today’s value. Some sources indicate that it carried the Downing name from the beginning, but this seems unlikely to me. The idea that a sitting president of a public university would have a building named after him doesn’t seem like something a state would allow. I am not familiar with the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky enough to say now, let alone back in 1970, but it seems suspect. I could be wrong, and if you know please leave a comment. It has been enlarged and renovated several times during its lifetime, including an addition in 2005 which brought the total square footage up to 193,547. The Student Success and Disabilities Services areas you see in the twelfth photo is located in the newer part of the building.

The first photo shows the university's seal on the front of the building. The second photo is a view looking away from the union across the Centennial Mall. The art piece you can just make out near the end of the mall is itself called Centennial. The piece is the work of Santa Fe, New Mexico-based artist Gino Miles. It was unveiled in a ceremony on November 18, 2006 during the centennial celebrations. It is made of steel. The third, fourth, and fifth photos show the front of the building as well as a sculpture of The Red Towel. Students and supporters of WKU wave red towels at all of the games. It is a tradition started by former basketball coach E.A. Diddle. The towel graces the uniforms of many of the athletic teams including the helmet of the WKU football team. The plaque you see in the sixth photo can be found just inside the main entrance of the building and the dedication plaque in the seventh photo hangs on the other side of the entryway. Photos eight through eleven are various interior shots where you will find, among other things, a statue of Big Red on top of a Red Towel. The newer part of the building, seen in the next three photos, holds various student services and a large lecture hall. They have even gone so far as to make doorhandles that are in the shape of the Red Towel. The last photo is an exterior shot of the rear of the building.

Across from the Downing Union is the building you see in the first photo below. Minton Hall is one of the residence halls on campus and it was designed by architects Frank Cain & Ben Johnson. Completed in 1963, the eleven-story structure was designed to accommodate up to 410 residents. It was built during the boom in higher education thanks to all of the Baby Boom generation students heading to college. Indeed, it was the tenth major building constructed at WKU during a seven-year period. It would not be the last. It cost $1.3 million to build, or about $13.6 million in today’s dollars. It was designed with the working title “Men’s Dormitory #5”. It did not receive its current name until 2002, and I am not sure what it was called in the interim. It takes its name in honor of John Minton who had numerous administrative roles over the course of nearly thirty years at the university. Among them, he was Dean of the Graduate School, Administrative Vice President, and Interim President. It was dedicated for him on October 25, 2002.

The next two photos are the front and back of Bates Runner Hall. It was completed in 1958 and was a dorm for women. Capable of housing 180 women, the building is the work of architects Robert & Johnson of Owensboro, Kentucky. It cost roughly $580k (about $6.3 million today) to construct. It opened with the name Regents Hall. It was renamed in 1969 in honor of Georgia Bates and Etta Runner. Bates worked at the university from 1956 until her retirement in 1980. Among her various roles, she the third Secretary of the WKY Board of Regents. Runner had received her teaching certificate from the university in 1916 and taught in public schools for a time. Among her roles at the university, she too was Secretary of the Board.

The next photo is the university’s Central Heat Plant. I took the photo simply because I like the way they wrote on the smokestack in brick. Factories of all kinds once did this and even as a kid I like that. It’s been added onto over the years, but the original portion opened in 1927. It is the work of architect Brinton Davis.

The fifth photo shows Gilbert Hall, another Baby Boomer era dorm. It was completed in 1964 and was the twelfth substantial building completed since 1956. Designed by Louisville, Kentucky based architecture firm Arrasmith and Wilk, it was originally called Terrace Hall. It was designed to accommodate 200 women and came complete with a sandwich shop on the first floor capable of seating 200 people. It cost $800,000, or about $8.2 million today, to construct. Its current name is honor of James T. Gilbert, a local physician who served on the WKU Board from 1963 until 1971. It was renamed in his honor in 1969. 

Next door to Gilbert is Hilltopper Hall which is the subject of the last photo of this set. When I saw it, I was a bit confused. As you can see, it is fenced off and appears to be in a state of construction. Yet, it looks like it has been completed for a time as well. As it happens, it is both. The building is another dorm and can accommodate 400 residents. It was completed in 2018 and in addition to residential spaces, has study rooms, game rooms, and a dining facility. It opened with great fanfare and high hopes. It was designed by architect Nick Sewell of the firm Sewell & Sewell Architect of Bowling Green and gas some 114,366 square feet of space. So why is fenced off? Well, in October 2023 the university found that the brick work and stone veneer on the south side of the building had issues. The veneer was starting to slip away from the building proper. Other issues with the brickwork were found, but students continued to live in the building. Subsequent evaluations prompted the university to close the dorm with little notice in January of this year. The university said the closure was done in caution not because of an imminent threat of collapse. A report by an engineering firm that indicated the veneer breaking was the result of the building having too much sway. All buildings sway in the wind, and the taller the structure the more it sways. In engineering terms, this is called drift. There are limits to how much a building can drift based on its construction and engineering. In the case of Hilltopper Hall, the drift was past allowable limits. Parts of the building exceed the legal allowance for drift by 600- to 900%, and the drift near the ends of the building exceeds the legal allowance by 1,300%. That drift put more pressure on the façade than the veneer could support, hence its detachment. The underlying issue was found to be the steel structure frame of the building. The construction had issues as well. There are plans to repair the structure, but I could not find out when and how that might be undertaken and completed. You can read the engineering reports here and here.

The next set takes us to the intercollegiate athletics side of things. The first four photos give you some exterior views of the Houchens Industries L.T. Smith Football Stadium. The stadium was completed in July 1968, and formally dedicated on October 26, 1968. It was designed by Ryan Associated Architects of Louisville, who designed so many buildings on the WKU campus during that period. The first part of the stadium was north/east stands which is what you see on the right in the forth photo below.  It opened with seating for 19,250. The Hilltoppers won their first outing in the new stadium, beating Butler University 35 to 0 on September 21, 1968. The current official capacity is 22,113 but five games have exceeded that limit. The largest crowd to date was a game against Indiana on September 25, 2021. Some 25,171 crowded the stadium that day to watch the Hilltoppers take on Indiana. WKU lost that game 33 to 31. 

The fifth and sixth photos are of the front of the E.A. Diddle Arena. ​Construction of the arena, which was developed with the working name “Academic-Athletic Building No. 1”  began on November 15, 1961. It was completed in late 1963 and was formally dedicated on December 7th that year. It cost $2.5 million, or roughly $26.3 million today, to complete. It was designed by architects Frank Cain and Ben Johnson. As originally configured, it held the basketball arena, a swimming pool, an auxiliary gym, locker rooms, and a variety of classrooms. They lost their first game in the arena to Vanderbilt 82 to 60. When it opened it could seat 8,500, but modifications over the years have seen the capacity fluctuate widely. It reached a peak capacity of 13,508 in the 1970’s. After a significant renovation in 2002 which saw the addition of more modern amenities, the capacity dropped to 7,381. Slight modifications since has it decreased to a current capacity of 7,326.

The statue of Coach Diddle seen in the seventh photo is also the work of Bell Buckle, Tennessee-based artist Russ Faxon. It was installed in 2005.

The first photo of the next set is Florence Schneider Hall, home of the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science. The building opened in 1929 as a dormitory for women and carried the name West Hall based on its location on campus. It was designed by Brinton Davis and cost $160,000 (about $2.9 million today). At some point, the name changed to Whitestone Hall, but I don’t know when that was or the significance of the name. Its current namesake came to WKU in 1910 and stayed until her retirement in 1953. She worked first as a stenographer (from 1910 to 1917), then as a bookkeeper (from 1917 to 1920), registrar (from 1920 until 1924) and finally as bursar. She was the university's bursar from 1924 until 1956. I was unable to find out when it took her name. If you know about the Whitestone name or when it received its current name, please leave a comment.

The second photo is the President's House, the historic home to WKU’s presidents which now serves as the president’s office. It was completed in 1931 and was also designed by Brinton Davis.

The next set is something you don't see too often on public college campuses, a chapel. My alma mater Texas Tech has one as does Montana State University. Despite my having covered two of them, you do not tend to see them at public institutions. This is the Chandler Memorial Chapel. ​It takes its name from David Chandler, a WKU alumnus (Class of 1982) who donated funds to help construct the building. A real estate developer, Chandler has been a philanthropist of note in Bowling Green and the general area. The building was completed in 2009 and I believe it officially opened in 2010. It was designed by the Everton Olgelsby Architects firm. The Nashville-based firm has designed buildings at Belmont University and Vanderbilt University. In addition to the chapel proper, the site has a memorial garden and a columbarium. It is interesting to think that you could have your remains inurned on a college campus. The 2,200 square foot facility can be rented out for weddings and other services.

Next is the Charles Hardcastle Kentucky Building which houses WKU’s Kentucky Museum. Construction on the building began in 1931 and it was ostensibly complete by 1936. I say ostensibly, because despite the fact that it entered use at that time, the interior would not be completed for another three years. It was designed to be a museum, but funding issues kept it incomplete during that time. The Great Depression was on-going, and the university decided to utilize the space for classrooms until such time as funds could be acquired to finish the space for its intended purpose. After some fundraising, architect James M. Ingram was hired to complete the interior (I assume to tone it down to fit a tight budget). As originally configured, it had some 45,000 square feet of space and came with a $300,000 price tag (about $5.7 million today). It was renovated and expanded in the late 1970’s and now comes in at about 80,000 square feet. It was initially called the Kentucky Building, with the Charles Hardcastle part being a later addition. Mr. Hardcastle, a WKU alumnus (Class of 1955) and his wife Carolyn donated funds to the university for several causes including the museum. 

After my initial visit to campus, I went back to the hotel where we were staying and checked in with the family. We had been travelling for some time and had been to more museums than we could count during our weeks-long trip None the less, she suggested we go to the Kentucky Museum and I am glad she did. It’s not terribly big, but it has a nice and varied collection of things. One of the things inside is the Lego Big Red seen in the third photo of this set. At one point in time, my sons would have been all over this thing and demanded a photo of them with it. I had to beg them to stand beside it to get photographed and they would only do it when the undergraduate docent in the room had turned her head to look in the other direction. It seems like yesterday that they were little, but now as teens being seen with something made of Legos while walking around with your mom and dad is apparently quite embarrassing, particularly to my oldest who thought the coed was cute.

The statue in front of Kentucky Hall is, of course, Abraham Lincoln. It is the work of Utah artist Gary Lee Price and it was installed in October 2008. The sculpture you see in the fourth photo stands outside the museum. The piece is called To the Point, and it is the work of Bowling Green-based artist Donnie Firkins. Firkins was a WKU alumnus (Class of 1975). The piece was completed in 1992. Firkins passed away on May 11, 2021.

Just outside of the museum is the log cabin you see in the last photo. It is part of the museum's collection and it is called the Felts Log House. ​The exact date of construction of the house is not known, but it is estimated that it was built around 1810. Archibald Felts built the house in Logan County, Kentucky for his family after their original home was burned down by Native Americans. His descendants continued to live in the structure until 1960! It was donated to WKU’s Kentucky Museum in 1979. The university spent about three years restoring the house back to its original configuration and condition.

Despite the extreme heat, I had a great visit to the campus. The people I ran into during my visit were quite nice. Bowling Green is just over an hour or so north of Nashville, and it is a pleasant town. I would recommend a stop there if you are in the area. I will close, as I so often do, with WKU's two versions of the campus lamppost sign.

I had been on a road trip with my family, and we stopped in Dayton, Ohio, to take our sons to see the National Museum of the Air Force Museum. If you have not been to the Air Force Museum, I highly recommend a trip. It is massive! It is the largest collection of military aircraft in the world. Although it does not have civil aircraft, its collection is, I believe, larger than that of both locations of the National Air and Space Museum combined. Regardless, it is an awesome museum with much more on display than aircraft. There are loads of exhibits and you could spend a couple of days there if you took the time to read every display. Plus, it’s free. At dinner afterwards, I thought I might get up early and run over to Wright State University and look around. But, after a very long day at the museum and about a week on the road we were all exhausted and turned in early. As I drifted off, I figured we would sleep in and then be on our way and that a visit to Wright State would have to wait for another day. As fate would have it, I woke up at 5:30am fully rested and refreshed. While the family slept, I grabbed breakfast and headed over to campus just as the sun came up.

This was only my second time on campus and quite honestly, I did not remember a great deal about it from my first visit. I had interviewed for and been offered a job there when I was a doctoral student in early 2000. That was nearly a quarter of a century ago. The people were nice, but it just wasn’t the right place for me. I had not been back to the campus since. Indeed, aside from transiting through the Cleveland and Cincinnati airports, I had not really been to Ohio in decades. It had been hot (for the area) the day before but given the early hour it was a perfect morning for a long walk around the campus. 

As colleges and universities go, Wright State is a young institution. Most colleges and universities in the U.S. experienced significant gains in enrollment immediately after World War II. Veterans poured into higher education thanks to the GI Bill and schools had massive enrollments. These new college graduates helped fuel a massive economic boom beginning in the 1950’s. Manufacturing in the U.S. grew, new technologies fueled the economy, and the Baby Boom generation was swelling the population. Ohio played an important role in the economy. Manufacturing and high-tech industries could be found across the state. Dayton was part of this growth and benefited from the presence of the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Although the state benefitted from numerous public colleges and universities there remained a need and an interest in a new institution. Dayton is in an interesting location for such a school. It is within a rather short drive of two major population centers in the state – Cincinnati to the southwest and Columbus to the northeast. Both of these cities are blessed with large public universities in the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State. Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio to the northwest of Cincinnati, is also close. An outsider might think that trying to establish a new independent college, let alone a new university so close to these existing institutions would be foolhardy. If nothing else, it would seem to be an idea that these existing universities would oppose. After all, who wants additional competition so close? I am sure there were elements who held this view. Undoubtedly there was concern in administrative offices across the state. There were likely state representatives and senators who were vocally opposed to creating another public school, let alone one so close to existing universities. Yet, support for Wright State’s creation was, as such things go, easy. Public support in Dayton was strong, civic leaders in the city and the region worked together to get the institution going. And despite the competition that a new university would create, the leaders of both Ohio State and Miami University lent their support to help create what would become Wright State University. Their support was so strong and genuine that two buildings on Wright’s campus bear the names of presidents of these universities. As someone in higher education this is remarkable! It's hard to imagine the case where such a thing could happen. Such was the support Wright State enjoyed. 

There was talk getting a new public college in the area for some time and with good reason. The rise of the Baby Boom generation was being felt everywhere, and particularly so in Dayton. The metro area had a population of about 295,000 in 1940, but that swelled to 400,000 by 1960 and 540,000 by 1968. Growth was everywhere, and the people of Dayton wanted some of that for their hometown. Ohio Governor James A. Rhodes was very much an infrastructure man and during his time in office worked to increase the state’s transportation networks, parks and recreation facilities, and colleges. He wanted a public college to be within thirty miles of every Ohioan. Regular readers of this blog may recall in my post on Jackson State Community College, that during the same time frame, the state of Tennessee made the pledge to locate a public college within fifty miles of its citizenry. 

Although support for a new institution was received from most quarters, several people played crucial roles in its creation. Stanley Charles Allyn was the CEO of the Dayton-based giant National Cash Register, or NCR. If you are unfamiliar with the name or the acronym by which it was known for decades, it was far more than a cash register business. It was a high tech firm creating and using the latest cutting edge technology. He was keen on seeing a better and larger educated workforce in the area. He was the founder and first chair of the Area Progress Council, a group involved in a number of initiatives with the creation of new university chief among them. He led the charge along with other local leaders including Robert Oelman, David Rike, and Frederick White. Buildings are named after these individuals and with good reason. The Council estimated the need to raise $6 million for the creation of the university and together they and the companies they represented gave $3 million. Dr. Novice Fawcett was the president of Ohio State at the time and he came out in vocal support of a new institution. Dr. John Millett was president of Miami University in nearby Oxford, OH, and he too supported its creation. He was subsequently the first Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents and used his position there to help the institution get approved and become operational. Buildings carry the Fawcett and Millett names as well and rightfully so. In April 1962, a new fundraising group was created called the Combined University Building Fund. By June of that year over 10,000 people had contributed to the fund to the tune of $3 million. The university had the funds it needed to go forward. The federal government donated lands beside the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as did the state. Additional acreage was purchased. The state gave permission for the school to begin construction and operation as the Dayton Campus of Miami University and Ohio State University. At the time, the campus was too far away from any municipality to be connected to water and sewer services, so Wright-Patterson stepped in and connected the campus to its grid until a public connection could be made.

The university opened with great fanfare on September 8, 1964. Although still in its embryonic phase, 3,203 students were enrolled that fall. Given that the university was brand new and had use of only one purpose built structure, people flocked to enroll. They were greeted by fifty-five faculty. Among them was C. Dewitt Hardy who joined the university in 1963 and aided in its development and launch. The first faculty member to be hire, Hardy would stay at Wright until his retirement in 1976. In 1965, a level of independence was achieved from Miami and Ohio State when the legislature gave the institution its own Advisory Committee, a precursor to a formal board of regents. The state determined that full independence would be granted when the institution's enrollment hit 5,000 but not before July 1, 1967. Wright State would hit that number quickly and on October 1, 1967 became a fully independent institution. Today, Wright State has over 10,200 students on the campus in Dayton and in excess of another 1,200 on off-site campuses. Its endowment is pushing $100 million and they over 1,100 teaching faculty. Through good times and bad, the university has grown into a comprehensive research university.
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This post will follow the route I took around campus and begins with the Wright State sign signaling the main entrance to campus at Colonel Glenn Highway and University Boulevard. You may not be able to tell it in this photo, but it is a very large tower.

I began my visit at the ​Student Union. As you can tell see from the first photo, the sun was just coming up when arrived on campus. The photos in this set were taken as began and then ended my visit, so you have a combination of daybreak and early morning photos. The Student Union opened in 1969. It was initially called the University Center. The former is by far the common name for student centers, but I prefer the latter simply because that was the name we used during my time as a student at the University of Tennessee. Like Wright State, Tennessee now refers to its student center as a student union. Part of the current Student Union is the former James A. Rhodes Physical Education Building completed in 1973. The Physical Education Building was designed by the Columbus, Ohio-based firm Brubaker and Brand and is to the southeast of the original portion of building. It was combined with the University Center via an addition added in 1994. Today, the union has 308,000 square feet of space.
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The union was not open when I first got to campus, but by the time I had finished my tour and was making my way to my car the first people were showing up for work. They were prepping for orientation for new students. The tour guides and other personnel were just showing up as I finished up my tour. 

There’s something about student unions that I like. Whether it’s the middle of the day and the place is packed with people, or its early or late and the place is empty, there is a vitality to unions. They can be brand new or old, yet they all have common elements and frequently common smells. Libraries always have that old book smell. You know the one. It is a combination of the smells of the materials slowly decaying, mold, and other things causing the scent. You can read some interesting things about old smells here and here. Student unions frequently have the lingering smell of food. As I was leaving the building, I could smell coffee brewing. That and the smell of breakfast foods come to mind in the morning, and of course other foods at lunch and in the evening. Popcorn is another frequent, but less common smell. Even when it is not close to a mealtime, the combined odors of food linger in unions and give them a familiar scent. That smell is not universal, but close enough to say that you are more than likely to experience it. Unions are also a great place to gain an understanding of the culture of a college or university. Do students use the place for informal meetings? Do they spend time reading, sleeping, or lounging in the building? Over the last quarter century I have found that the more students you see in the union doing things other than eating is associated with a greater sense of community and, in many cases, a higher academic profile. In my post on the University of North Carolina, I noted that at better institutions, students not only use the library more often during the day, but they also cram into the library in the afternoons and evenings in large numbers. Use of the union is not necessarily correlated with academic performance to the same degree, but it is a sign of engagement. The coffee shops and restaurants in any given student union will be busy during peak times like breakfast and lunch. But when you see students hanging out in lounges and engaging with one another for long periods time outside those times, you can generally assume that they have the collective feeling that they are part of that school. You can also assume that compared with most schools where the union is only used as a place to grab a bite or buy a book, schools with busy unions have students with better entrance and performance metrics. At least, that is the impression I have had for several decades now. I’m sure it is not universal, but time has shown me that it is a fairly consistent association. It was far too early for the Wright State Union to have many people around in any case, let alone in the summer when fewer people are on campus anyway. But it did have the common smell and more than sufficient seating and other spaces to allow students to engage with one another at times other than when eating.

The photos below, taken when the sun was just coming up, are of the south side of the building. The southside of the building looks nothing like the original portion. Whereas the original portion’s exterior is concrete, the newer portion as well as the former physical education building now subsumed within the union are both clad in the familiar red brick seen in most of the other buildings on campus. The first four photos are of the newer portion. The graphic on the side of the building in the second photo was installed in 2020
 
The original portion of the union, seen here in photos five and six, sits on the northwest corner of the current combined complex. If you look at aerial photos, you can see that the union is a bit of a distance away from the original four buildings constructed on campus (see below). The university was blessed with a lot of space from the beginning, and the placement of the union in what was then a fair distance away from the principal parts of campus shows the administration was already thinking in terms of overall campus planning with an eye to what would be in between in the future. The roofline reminds me of Rust Hall at the now defunct Memphis College of Art. It was expanded by a 28,000 square foot addition in the early 1970’s designed by the architecture firm Sullivan, Lecklider, Jay, and Mitchell. The addition came with a $1 million price tag (about $7.8 million today).

The set below is both the ​Krishan & Vicky Joshi Research Center and the Fritz and Dolores Russ Engineering Center. The Joshi Center is the part of the structure clad in glass that is on the left of the first three photos below. The building is connected to the Russ Center which sits on the right (to the east) in these first three photos. Joshi has some 48,000 square feet of space across its four floors. It is named in honor of former Wright State professor Krishan Joshi and his wife. Joshi taught mathematics at the university. The Joshi’s have been significant donors to the university. Joshi founded the tech research firm UES, which has since been bought by the firm BlueHalo. The Joshi’s donated $10 million to aid in the construction of the building that bears their name.

The Russ Center opened in 1992. Fritz Russ was a member of the Wright State Board, the Ohio University Board, and the Ohio University Foundation Board. In 1994, Ohio University renamed its engineering school the Russ College of Engineering and Technology. The National Academy of Engineering awards the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, a $500,000 award for advancements in a critical engineering area, every two years. The Russ Nature Preserve in Green County, Ohio, was part of their land, the 90 acres being given for the creation of the park after Dolores’ passing in 2008. Fritz and Delores founded Systems Research Laboratories.

Photos four and five are the backside of the two structures, this time with Russ on the left and Joshi on the right. The last photo is a little bunny that was enjoying his breakfast behind the buildings. I think he was surprised a human was out and about that early. Although I regularly see squirrels and pigeons, this is only the second rabbit I have seen on a college campus, the other being about a year earlier at Montana State University. 

​The set below is principally photos of the Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building. The building has 94,000 square feet of space and cost $37.5 million to construct. With the massive inflation we have experienced in the last few years, that would be $51.3 million today. You cannot tell it from these photos, but the building is L-shaped. Neuroscience is located in one wing and engineering in the other. Groundbreaking for the building took place in 2012 and it was completed in 2016. The building was designed by architecture firm Perkins+Will. If you are familiar with collegiate architecture, you likely have heard of the firm. Perkins+Will is a big firm, and they have designed dozens of buildings for colleges and universities around the world. Although it is not clad in the red brick which predominates campus, it still fits in. It is a lovely looking building despite its mismatch to most other Wright State buildings. 

The first two photos are the view of the buildings west side as viewed from Alumni Grove. Behind the Neuroscience Building on the right of the first photo, you can just make out part of the Frederick White Hall, the principal home to the Boonshoft School of Medicine. White takes its name from Frederick White, a high-level of General Motor's Dayton Operations. White was the business officer for the university when in the planning and development stage. His work was comprehensive. He oversaw the acquisition and purchase of land for the university, worked with local officials on zoning issues, the installation of electric power, water, and sewer services, and worked on campus planning. For a time, his Wright State office was in the home of a local family, the Warner's, whose land was purchased for the campus. The building has over 84,000 square feet of space. The last photo of this set is also of White Hall. The third and fourth photos are the southeast side of the building.

The Boonshoft School of Medicine is interesting to me for a couple of reasons. First, there were already schools of medicine at the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State, both which are relatively close to Dayton. Just about ninety-nine miles separate UC and OSU as the crow flies. It is interesting to me that the state would place a third public medical school in such close proximity to their two existing schools. Additionally, the College of Medicine at Cincinnati is the oldest (public) school in the state. True, both metro Cincinnati and Columbus today have populations in excess of two million and had a comparable amount fifty years ago. Yet, I would have thought that a state government would choose to expand the existing schools. Part of the reason had to do with the availability of federal funding. This is the second thing that makes it interesting to me. The timing of the creation of Boonshoft is really incredible. 

The Veterans Administration Medical School Assistance and Health Manpower Training Act (Public Law 92-541), commonly referred to as the Teague-Cranston Act, passed in 1972 and called for the creation of an additional five schools of medicine across the U.S. The Act supported all manner of things health related. But the creation of the new medical schools was meant to increase the number of physicians, particularly in underserved areas, to partner with the VA Medical System, and to support veterans in obtaining medical and health-related educations. Wright State was chosen to be the home of one of these schools and the Ohio General Assembly approved its creation in 1973. It was a great opportunity. The federal government would pay for the bulk of the creation of new schools of medicine over the course of several years with the proviso that state governments continue to fully fund the schools at the end of federal funding The others included Marshall University in Huntington, WV, Texas A&M University, East Tennessee State University, and the University of South Carolina. What is remarkable is that Wright State opened in 1963 and only became an independent college in 1967. Getting funding to start a medical school within a decade of coming online and a mere five years after becoming an independent, free-standing institution is remarkable. What is perhaps more remarkable is that the administration at Wright State began a feasibility study for a medical school in 1970, a mere three years after they had obtained independent status. They were thinking big, obviously, and it paid off. Part of the requirements to receive the funding from the Act was to establish and maintain a working relationship with a VA Medical Center, something Wright State did with the nearby Dayton VAMC, a relationship it maintains to this day.

While Hall is actually a combination of structures which have been combined. The building opened with the name “Frederick A. White Center for Ambulatory Care”. The original portion of the building was designed by the firm Richard Levin and Associates. In 2005, the Boonshoft’s family donated $28.5 million to the school of medicine to expand the building, fund scholarships, and support numerous other activities. The school was officially renamed the Boonshoft School of Medicine that year in recognition of what was then the largest single donation made to the university.

​The first three photos below are of the Alumni Tower at Alumni Grove. The tower is, in a way, one of the original structures on campus. I use the phrase "in a way" on purpose here as a means to tease out its history a bit. What you see is not the totality of the original tower, nor is it in the location the original tower stood. It is, however, of very similar design and made with many but not all of the same bricks. The original tower stood at the entrance of campus near where the tower in the first photo of this post now stands. That tower came as a bonus. Allyn Hall, the first building constructed on campus (see below), came in underbudget. Some of those funds were used to build the tower. I don’t know if they didn’t want it to have a bell or a clock, one or both of which are typical for such towers on college campuses, or simply did not have sufficient funds to install such items at the time. Whatever the reason, it was not built with such things and it was known as the “Bell-less Tower.” The tower originally had “Wright State” written on a different centerpiece in rather nondescript text. That centerpiece, as best I can tell from older photos available online, was a solid cube, whereas today the new Alumni Tower has four unconnected blocks. The original tower was much taller than the one you see here. For some reason, it was decided that it did not give the look some in the administration would like. It was subsequently demolished. I take it that many in the university community were not happy with the destruction of something from the founding of the university. The complaints were loud enough and lasted long enough that eventually the current tower was erected. The plaque in the fourth photo tells some of the story and the rest I pieced together from news reports from the era. The marker on the stone in the last photo of this set denotes that the area is the Alumni Grove.

The first five photos of the next set are of the ​Health Sciences Building. The building opened in 1986 after beginning construction in, I believe, 1984. As would be the case with the yet to be built University Hall (see below), Health Sciences was meant to be an interim name for the building. The Wright State Board was using the name as a placeholder for an eventual name of an important figure on campus, a member of the alumni, or donor. Initially during the planning period, it was also referred to as the Lab and Animal Resources Building. 

In the first photo you see the east façade of the building with the Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building in the background. The art piece you see in that photo is in front of the Matthew O. Diggs, III Laboratory building (see below). It is "Double Helix" a piece by artist Jon Hudson of nearby Yellow Springs, Ohio. The piece is made of stainless steel and measures eight feet wide, eight feet tall, and twenty-five feet in length. It is a great looking piece, and as the sun was rising during my early morning visit it began to have some incredible reflections that made it quite beautiful. The second and third photos are views as you approach the building from the southeast. The fourth is the back of the building as seen from Alumni Grove. Finally, the fifth and sixth are of the entrance on the east side.

​The last four photos of this set are of the Medical Sciences Building. My findings on the history of the building were limited. I understand that it was built in two phases. I believe Phase I opened in 1976, although I am not quite sure of this as the dates I found online were contradictory. Phase II of the building began with a groundbreaking ceremony on March 30, 1979. The 30,000 square foot addition was designed by Cincinnati-based architectural firm Baxter, Hoddell, Donnelly, and Preston. Part of the addition included a 150-seat lecture hall. Its construction cost $3 million (about $13 million in 2024 value). The first photo is the entrance on the north east side of the building, near the amphitheater in front of the Biological Sciences I and II building (see below). The remaining photos are of the building's west and south sides.

The set below are photos of the ​Biological Sciences I and Biological Sciences II buildings. These two buildings are, more or less, two wings of the same building. Had construction taken place on a slightly different schedule, I don’t think they would carry the numeric designations as they do currently. Biological Sciences I was started earlier and opened prior to Biological Sciences II. But the two structure’s construction overlapped. As Biological Sciences I was finishing up in late 1974 and early 1975, work was underway on Biological Sciences II. Construction on Biological Sciences I began in 1973, and by November of that year site excavation was complete and the foundation was begun. The building was completed in August 1975. ​Biological Sciences II was completed in the fall of 1975, with the various faculty and departments moving in during late November that year. In the first photo of this set, you have the entrance to the building on the west side of the complex. In this view, Biological Sciences I is on the left and Biological Sciences II is on the right. The second the third photos are of the entrance on the east side. In the third photo, you can once again see the Double Helix art piece in front the Diggs Lab. On the northwest side of the complex is a large amphitheater with a below grade connection to the buildings, as can be seen in the last two photos of this set. In the background behind the amphitheater in the first photo is the Brehm Laboratory. I was not able to find out much about Brehm, but I believe it opened in 1973.

Amphitheaters are interesting things to me. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, numerous colleges and universities built them. They look nice and I like them. However, I rarely see them being used. When they are being used, it is simply as an outdoor seating area, not as a place for a lecture, presentation, or show of some sort. Perhaps that is because of the locations I frequent. In the southeast where I live, summers can be brutally hot. Since the Fall semester starts in August for most places, that means it is frequently far too hot and humid for anyone to want to be in an outdoor amphitheater. Of course, it does cool off and compared to other parts of the country, it is quite pleasant late into the semester. I don’t know if it’s the weather or not, but I have only seen an amphitheater being used for anything other than a place to sit on only one occasion in the last thirty years and that was at the University of Mississippi where it was being used by people leading a campus tour for prospective students and their families. I don’t know how much use the one at Wright State gets. If you are an employee or alumnus, leave a comment about it if you would.

The set below is of the Mathematical and Microbiological Sciences Building. I believe its original name was the Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Building, but I cannot swear to that fact. I have seen some internal documents from that era using this alternate name, but it may have been a working title. Or, conversely, it was the name and when engineering moved out that part was dropped. If you know for certain, please leave a comment. Regardless, the building was opened in 1984 or 1986 (various documents on Wright's website list one or the other date).

The sculpture you see in these photos is the work of David Black, a Columbus, OH, based artist. The piece was completed in 1998 and its official name is "Turning Points". The students came up with their own name for it "BART" which is an acronym for Big Artsy Red Thing. It stands seventeen feet high and is made of aluminum beams on top of granite pillars. His work also appears on the campuses of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY, the Cincinnati State Community College, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio State University in nearby Columbus, and Youngstown State University. ​

The four original buildings constructed on campus are featured in the following set. These buildings make up Founder's Quadrangle with each building being named after one of four men who were instrumental in the creation of Wright State. In addition to being the original structures on campus, the Founder's Quadrangle was the site of the first commencement and many other firsts on campus. 

The first photo is of Allyn Hall. Allyn was the first building constructed on the campus. As such, it was the site of just about everything Wright had to offer in those early days. All of the offices and classrooms, the library, and the bookstore called Allyn home. There was no cafeteria, which was seen as nonessential given the commuter nature of the school at that point, but there was a room dedicated as a lounge with vending machines. Note that I wrote that Allyn was the home of most everything. A farmhouse which stood on the grounds when they were acquired for the university continued to soldier on and serve the nascent school. Biology had a lab in the old house and chemistry used the kitchen as a wet lab. Workers were still completing the final touches on the building during the first few weeks of the Fall 1964 semester. A professor once recalled that a worker was on a ladder in his class installing ceiling tiles. When the professor asked a question, the worker was the only one who raised his hand, so he was called on and correctly answered the query. The building is named for Stanley Charles Allyn, former president of NCR who, as noted above, was one of the driving forces which created the university.

The second photo was taken looking westward across the Founders Quadrangle with Allyn at the apex of the picture. In this photo, Oelman Hall (see below) is on the left and Millett Hall (see below) is on the right. The white structure in front of Allen in this photo and again in close ups in the third, fourth, and fifth photos is a dining facility now called The Hanger. In the early years, commencement would be held in this area. You cannot quite see it in this photo but Allyn and Millett are attached behind The Hanger. This was not always the case and photos from the 1960's clearly show that to be the case. I am uncertain as to when this addition was made. Groundbreaking for Allyn took place on May 31, 1963, at 3:00 p.m. Raymond Roesch, SM, the then-president of the University of Dayton was in attendance and gave a prayer.

The sixth through ninth photos of this set are of Oelman Hall, the second building constructed on campus. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the building on March 31, 1965 and it was completed in 1966. It is named in honor of Robert S. Oelman, the former president of NCR. He was, as noted above, one of a core group of individuals who were largely responsible for the creation of the university. The building was designed with the name working name “Science and Engineering Building”. 

One of the features of the campus I would have liked to have seen and photographed was left out thanks to my early morning visit. As is the case with other institutions located in regions with particularly cold or hot weather, Wright State has connections between many of its buildings via a vast array of tunnels. My wife is an alumnae of the State University of New York at Buffalo, and she has many stories about avoiding the harsh winters by traversing campus in their tunnel system. Although Wright’s Ohio location is not nearly as cold or prone to as much snow as Buffalo, it has a large number of tunnels. In fact, currently the campus has nearly two miles of tunnels connecting twenty of the twenty-two buildings on the core part of campus. In 1966, the construction of Oelman Hall called for the creation of a tunnel for the purpose of connecting it to Allyn’s electrical system. It was not meant to be a passageway for the average Wright State citizen. None the less, students, faculty, and staff alike began to use the tunnel as a means of avoiding the winter weather. It took a while for the administration to formalize it, but discussions about having the tunnel system as a pedestrian mall began as new buildings came online. By the early 1970’s the tunnel system was formally operational, although again it was basically in use since 1966. Today, it is a bustling place in wintertime. It is also fully accessible. That is one of the things Wright State is known for – disability accessibility. Wright State has long been active in supporting students with disabilities and has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in this regard. It is one of a handful of colleges and universities in the U.S. to fully accessible and the administration is always on the lookout for ways to increase access and support people with disabilities. Anyway, the tunnel system is heavily used, and you can find maps online not merely for the tunnels but as a guide as to how to use them for exercise with various routes outlined with precise walking distances.

Photos ten through thirteen in this set are of Millett Hall, the third building constructed on campus.  A groundbreaking ceremony for the structure was held on July 2, 1965; it was completed in 1966. The building is named in honor of Dr. John D. Millett, who was the president of Miami University at the time and who later went on to become the first Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. He did his undergraduate work at DePauw University (Class of 1933) in his native Indiana. He later attended Columbia University from which he would earn his Ph.D. (Class of 1938). He began teaching at Columbia a year later. His time there was interrupted by World War II, during which time he served on the staff of General Brehon Somervell who commanded the Army Service Forces in Washington, DC. After the war he returned to Columbia. He served as the 16th president of Miami University from 1953 until 1964, a time of unprecedented growth. During his time there, enrollment doubled and, like many colleges and universities coping with such increases driven by the Baby Boom generation, oversaw a massive expansion of the university’s physical plant. Millett would be both a classroom building and a new, bigger home for the library which until that point was located in Allyn Hall. 

​​This set closes with four photos of Fawcett Hall. The fourth building constructed in the Founder’s Quadrangle, it is named in honor of Novice G. Fawcett, the president of Ohio State University at the time of the university's establishment. Completed in 1967, it was designed by the firm Lorenz, Williams, Williams, Lively, and Likely. Fawcett was fully supportive of a new institution in Dayton, a fact that is again surprising given that he was president of an institution less than one hundred miles away. Ohio State was and is the big dog in public higher education in the state, and his support proved immensely valuable in Wright State's creation. Enough time had passed for buildings to start to be open since I first arrived on campus, and I was able to visit the lobby inside the building as seen in the last three photos.

The first two photos of the next set is of the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures. I imagine just about everyone in the world knows Tom Hanks. Just how many know about the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures is another matter. I had not heard of it and did not it was located at Wright State. If you had asked me where it was prior to my visit, I would have guessed either the University of Southern California, thanks to their world-renowned film school, or UCLA. I might also have guessed Chabot College or the California State University, Sacramento, both of which he attended. I may have guessed any number of other schools in California, or even the University of Illinois where his brother is a long-serving faculty member. But I would not have guessed Wright State. Of course, I would have been wrong on all counts, and my not knowing about the center says something about me and not Wright State.

Hanks’ association with the university goes back quite a way. He came to the university in 1978 to perform in a Shakespeare production and has been a supporter of the university ever since.
It is the home of the Center for Motion Pictures which was previously housed in the Creative Arts Center. It has 14,500 square feet of space. Hanks came to campus for the dedication of the space in on April 19, 2006. You can watch a video of the dedication here. Hanks was co-chair of the “Rise. Shine.” fundraising campaign which brought in a whopping $150 million to the university. He had previously produced videos for the university and raise funds for motion pictures program.

The building you see behind the Hanks Center and in the remaining photos of this set are of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Library. The building opened in 1974 and was for many years simply referred to as the library. The building was renamed in honor of Dayton-native Paul Laurence Dunbar, a noted poet, in 1992. Dunbar began his writing at age six. He was a classmate of Orville Wright. Dunbar is the work of architect Don Hisaka. His most noted work was perhaps the Bartholomew County Jail in Columbus, Indiana. None the less, he designed dozens of notable homes and buildings. Among his work for colleges and universities would be the Mulford Health Science Library at the University of Toledo. Opened in 1973, it too is a Brutalist concrete structure. Hisaka designed the former University Center at Cleveland State University, which was razed in 2008. It was also a large concrete structure, and the combination of concrete and glass in the atrium led students to call it the Birdcage for both its appearance and its tendency to amplify noise. Hisaka died in 2013, aged 85.

The next set is four views of the ​Creative Arts Center, a massive structure on the east side of campus. The building opened in 1973 and looks very much like a structure of that era. It was expanded in 1990. The architectural firm Tweddell, Wheeler, Strickland, and Beumer of Cincinnati designed the original part of the building. It is a massive structure made with a façade of concrete and red brick. I was not able to go inside the building as it was too early for it to be open, but inside there is a four-story atrium that is apparently quite nice. The first three photos are the portion of the building nearest the library. The last photo is the south façade which faces White Hall.

The set below is of the ​Matthew O. Diggs, III Laboratory, a relatively new addition to campus. Diggs opened on November 8, 2007 and is a LEED® Gold Certified building. It comes in at 45,000 square feet. Diggs was designed by BHDP Architecture which has offices in Cincinnati and Columbus, as well as Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina. The firm has designed numerous collegiate buildings at such institutions as Bowling Green University, Bucknell University, Cedarville University, Lycoming College, Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, and many others. It is a research building supporting both the Boonshoft School of Medicine and the College of Science and Mathematics. Matthew O. Diggs, Jr., and his wife Nancy donated funds to help support the construction of the facility. It is named in honor of their son who passed away in 2000. Mr. Diggs was on the Wright State board. Once again you can see the Double Helix art piece in the third and fourth photos. The first four photos show the main entrance and front of the building which is the south façade of the structure. The last four photos are of the southeast side of the building. 

The first five photos of the set below are of Rike Hall. The Rike name was once well known in Dayton, and I suppose it still is. The Rike Department Store was a fixture of downtown for decades. Rike Hall is named for David L. Rike, grandson of the founder of the store. Rike was leading the company during what I would imagine was one of the true golden eras of downtown department store shopping. Malls were already on the rise by the 1960's and within twenty years or so their presence had become so present that many stores abandoned downtown locations across the country. The Rike store in downtown Dayton was a midrise building with seven above grade floors that had some 650,000 square feet of space. It was known for its Christmas window displays. Rike's would become part of the Federated Department Stores chain in 1961. David Rike was dedicated to the Dayton community and he and his family donated to many causes including Wright State. Indeed, a building at the University of Dayton also carries the Rike name. He was a member of the Wright State Board from 1969 to 1973.

The building was designed by the architectural firm John Ruetschle and Associates. Ruetschle was born in Dayton in 1937. The firm began its life as the Hart firm, founded by Erskine Hart in Dayton. His son Jim joined the firm in the 1950’s and its name changed to Hart and Hart. Ruetschle joined the firm in 1957 as a draftsman. Erskine’s other son Dave joined the firm at some point, but after both had retired and passed away in the 1970’s, Ruetschle acquired the business and renamed named it John Ruetschle and Associates. He would retire in 2002 and passed away in 2019, but the firm continues on. He designed many buildings in the region, including schools, churches, businesses, and homes. The building was completed in 1981. The first three photos show the south side of the building and the fourth and fifth show the north side. It is home to the Raj Soin College of Business. The sixth through ninth photos show the interior of the building. Mr. Soin is a successful businessman and philanthropist who served on  board of both Bradley University and Wright State. He has donated significant funds to the Indu and Raj Soin Medical Center in Beavercreek, OH, and the Soin Pediatric Trauma and Emergency Center at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
​
To the southwest of Rike is University Hall, seen in photos ten through twelve. Construction on University began in mid-1997. The building cost $15.3 million (nearly $30 million in today’s value) to construct and opened in 1999. Several names were considered for the building, including Wright Brothers Hall, which was a serious contender. In the end, the generic name that is still in use was chosen. The idea at the time was that the moniker would remain in place until someone donated enough funds for naming rights. The L-shaped building is simple yet quite attractive to me with its brick cladding and limestone trim. 

The set concludes with five photos of the Student Success Center, which sits next door to University Hall. 
The building comes in 67,000 square feet of space. In addition to housing student support services of various kinds, the building has classrooms, and a 220-seat lecture hall. It opened in 2015, a design of the Annette Miller Architects firm of Dayton. The firm has designed buildings at other colleges including Miami University, Ohio State University, and the University of Cincinnati. Construction costs came in at $17 million (about $23 million in 2024 value). In the last photo you can see a water tower in the distance behind the Student Success Center replete with the Wright State logo.

The first two photos in the next set are of ​Hamilton Hall. Hamilton was the first dorm constructed on the campus. Opening in 1970, Hamilton can accommodate 300 residents. You might think that the first dorm on any particular campus might carry the name of someone important to the university. I made that assumption when I saw the Hamilton name in this case. Not only is Hamilton not named for someone associated with Wright State, it is not named for a person at all. It is named for a river. If you are familiar with Dayton, you likely know that several rivers flow through the city and region. The Stillwater River merges with the Miami River just north of downtown. The Mad River joins in right at downtown. Wolf Creek merges with Miami River just south of where the Mad River comes in. So where exactly is the Hamilton? Underground, as it happens. The Hamilton River is a prehistoric river that flows through the substrata in the area. Just why it was chosen as the name is something I could not find out when researching for this post.

The university has many other dormitories, obviously. However, they are a bit of a walk from the heart of the campus. I was about to walk over to take a look at them and then thought better of it. It's one thing to take photos of a dorm in the middle of the day when they are surrounded by other, non-residential buildings. It is quite another to take photos of them very early in the morning when no one is about and when they are set off to themselves. Even though it was the summer, and thus likely that many of the dorms were closed, I didn't like the idea of walking around taking photos and so I skipped those. Since Hamilton is in the heart of campus and sits directly adjacent to the student union and several academic buildings, I figured it was okay if I took two snapshots of it.

Hamilton was designed by the firm Yount, Sullivan, and Lecklider. The plaza area you see here was once a parking lot, but was transitioned to its current appearance in the late 1990’s. When the building opened, it was known simply as the Wright State Residence Hall. It stayed that way for seven years. In 1976, university officials and students alike began the process of selecting a name for the structure. Several names were considered including Golding in honor of the university’s first president Brage Golding. Frederick White, the first Wright State faculty member and the namesake of the medical school building, suggested Hamilton. The ancient riverbed still exists and is still full of water. The name was formally adopted by the board in their May 1977 meeting.

​The seal you see in the third photo was a gift of the ’67 Society. The ’67 Society is a student group named for the year Wright State became an independent institution. It engages in activities to promote the university, its values, and traditions. It was the brainchild of students Holley Mapel (Class of 2019) and Markayla Clayton (Class of 2020). Installed in September 2020, the seal measures forty-eight inches in diameter and weighs 300 pounds. 

As is the usual case, I will close with Wright State's version of the campus lamppost sign. Wright State not only has such a sign, it has multiple versions all over campus. You can see the university’s mascot on the first lamppost sign. Although Wright State has been known as the Raiders since 1971, the mascot has not always been the same. The first mascot was a Viking with a red beard known as Rowdy Raider. The university would drop the Viking in 1997 in favor of a brown wolf. A decade later, it would change to a gray wolf in 2007 and so it remains.

There was really no one around during my visit thanks to the early hour, but I could imagine the place being crowded with students in the few short weeks after my visit when the fall term arrived. I imagine it buzzes with activity. Perhaps some day I can return and see it in action. Although I had taken my time exploring the campus, I returned to my car to find that it was still rather early. Realizing my family was likely just getting up, I decided to take the short drive over to the University of Dayton to look around. It will be the subject of my next post.