J. I. Holcomb adds photographs of the building to the cornerstone during 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 adds two photographs of Ross Hall to a copper box. Located in the residence halls cornerstone, the box was sealed into place during the cornerstone laying ceremony on September 30, 1953. The person seated at the far end of the stage is student representative Skip Booher (Class of 1954), while Butler University President M. O. Ross (left) stands in the background. On the other side of the platform from Holcomb, from left to right, are Frank Reissner (Class of 1934), Butler Alumni Association President; Dr. James H. Peeling, Head of the Department of Sociology and faculty representative; L. Gray Burdin (Class of 1935, M.S. 1937) (standing), Dean of Men and Professor of Speech; and Dr. E. Robert Andry (Class of 1930, M.A. and B.D. 1934) (center), Head of the Department of Religion. During the ceremony other participants added materials related to both the building and the University to the box. Some of the other items included two copies of The Butler Collegian featuring details of the event, added by Booher and a copy of The Butler Alumnus, added by Reissner. 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/2655
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 students Butler University--Alumni and alumnae Ross, Maurice ORear, 1897- 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 Burdin, L. Gray Peeling, James H. Reissner, Frank Ross Residence Hall Mens Residence Hall Cornerstones Lecterns Fairview campus

Further information on this record can be found at its source.