Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
March 15, 2002

Poll: Most favor restoring Morrill if funds found

Vines are growing through the windows at Morrill Hall. Photo by Bob Elbert.

by Linda Charles
Suggestions for Morrill Hall range from putting in a campus museum to tearing it down to make way for a parking lot.

Earlier this month, President Gregory Geoffroy asked for ideas about the building's future and use. Some 400 faculty, staff, students, alumni, townspeople and others e-mailed the president with suggestions. Most respondents favored restoring the building if private funding could be secured, although some favored tearing it down or rebuilding in a different location.

"I am not at all surprised by the number of responses we received, and I am pleased that so many took the time to offer their suggestions," Geoffroy said. "I will be reviewing all the suggestions carefully over the next few weeks to determine the next steps in deciding what we should do with Morrill Hall."

Frequent ideas for using a restored Morrill Hall included turning it into an alumni center, multicultural center, student center, faculty center, museum, hotel, restaurant or visitor center.

Many suggested replacing the building with an exact duplicate, while others recommended incorporating parts of the original building, such as the cornerstone or southeast turret, into a new building. Some suggested that the faade of the front, along with the turret, be preserved.

Others favored tearing down the building, citing the high cost of renovating Morrill Hall, especially in light of the current university budget crunch.

President Gregory Geoffroy has asked that comments be sent to him by the end of Friday, March 15. Comments may be e-mailed to morrill-hall@iastate.edu. Summaries of the submitted comments and the consultants' report may be found online at http://www.iastate.edu/~president/morrill/about.html.

Many who favored saving the building cited its historic symbolism: a reminder that Iowa was the first state to adopt the terms of the Morrill Act that created the nation's land-grant system. Others lauded its architecture or just its "staying" power on central campus.

Ideas for funding a renovation were just as varied. Some suggested students and faculty could do the restoration work, while others called for a fund-raising campaign among the alumni. Many suggested various profit-making enterprises, such as turning it into a bed and breakfast.

Others hoped one large donor could be convinced to undertake the project. Most seemed to agree they didn't want Morrill renamed for a donor, although a few suggested a combination name that would incorporate both a donor and the Morrill name.

One person was ready to make Morrill a home, writing, "I would love to live in Morrill Hall. It is in the middle of campus and it would be a shame to waste the building. Just give me a space heater for the winter and I'll be set."