Ross Hall cornerstone ceremony

Description:	A group of people stand on a platform, amid scaffolding and construction supplies, during the Ross Hall cornerstone laying ceremony on September 30, 1953. In the background, several people, possibly construction workers, watch the proceedings from the building, which is under construction. From left to right, the people on the front row of the platform are Skip Booher (Class of 1954), student representative; J. I. Holcomb, Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee and Vice President of the Butler University Board of Directors; Hilton U. Brown (Class of 1880, M.A. 1882), President of the Board of Directors; Dr. E. Robert Andry (Class of 1930, M.A. and B.D. 1934), Head of the Department of Religion; and Frank Reissner (Class of 1934), Butler Alumni Association President. In the back row, from left to right, are L. Gray Burdin (Class of 1935, M.S. 1937), Dean of Men and Professor of Speech; and Dr. James H. Peeling, Head of the Department of Sociology and faculty representative. University President M. O. Ross stands on the ground next to the platform. During the ceremony participants added materials related to both the building and the University to a copper box, which was sealed inside the cornerstone. Some of the items included in the copper box were 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 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/2651
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 presidents College trustees College teachers College students Butler University--Alumni and alumnae Brown, Hilton U. (Hilton Ultimus), 1859-1958 Ross, Maurice ORear, 1897- Holcomb, J. I. (James Irving), 1876-1962 Mortar Chairs Butler University--Buildings College buildings Butler University--History Indianapolis (Ind.)--History People Booher, Skip (Gary Lee) Andry, E. Robert Burdin, L. Gray Peeling, James H. Reissner, Frank Ross Residence Hall Mens Residence Hall Cornerstones Fairview campus

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