J. I. Holcomb speaks at the Ross Hall cornerstone laying ceremony

Description:	Butler University Board of Directors Vice President and Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee J. I. Holcomb speaks at the Ross Hall cornerstone laying ceremony on September 30, 1953. Seated to the left of Holcomb are Skip Booher (Class of 1954), student representative and Hilton U. Brown (Class of 1880, M.A. 1882), President of the Board of Directors (partially hidden by Holcomb). Seated on the other side of the platform, from left to right, are Frank Reissner (Class of 1934), Butler Alumni Association President; Dr. James H. Peeling, Head of the Department of Speech and faculty representative; and Dr. E. Robert Andry (Class of 1930, M.A. and B.D. 1934), Head of the Department of Religion. L. Gray Burdin (Class of 1935, M.S. 1937), Dean of Men and Professor of Speech, stands off to the right. During the ceremony participants added materials related to both the building and the University to a copper box that was sealed in the cornerstone. Some of the items included two photographs of the building under construction, added by Holcomb, and two copies of The Butler Collegian featuring details of the event, added by Booher. When the dorm opened on September 12, 1954, it was known as the Mens Residence Hall and was the first dorm on the Universitys Fairview campus. After University President M. O. Ross announced his plans to retire in 1962, the board passed a resolution to rename the building in his honor. The name of the building was officially changed to Ross Residence Hall in 1963. During Ross tenure as President of the University, the endowment doubled and the number of students attending tripled, while academic and admission standards increased. Ross also oversaw a building boom on campus, which included the construction of Ross Hall, Schwitzer Hall, the Pharmacy Building, Atherton Union, and the Holcomb Observatory, while Irwin Library, Lilly Hall, and Clowes Memorial Hall were all under construction when he retired.
Origin:	1953-09-30
Created By:	Houghtalen, H. H.
Source:	http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/2650
Collection:	Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Copyright:	In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Geography:	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.836378, -86.169854 39.836378 -86.169854
Subjects:	Construction projects Construction equipment Scaffolding Cornerstone laying Dormitories College trustees College teachers College students Butler University--Alumni and alumnae Holcomb, J. I. (James Irving), 1876-1962 Microphone Butler University--Buildings College buildings Butler University--History Indianapolis (Ind.)--History People Booher, Skip (Gary Lee) Andry, E. Robert Peeling, James H. Reissner, Frank Ross Residence Hall Mens Residence Hall Cornerstones Lecterns Fairview campus

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