Western Campus

 

Boyd Hall

History

- The building was used as a science hall, a library, and a dormitory.

- Mrs. Alexander Thompson, wife of the head of the Chamber of Commerce, headed the $1.3 Million campaign to improve the campus.

- It took about a year to be built (October 1945 to fall 1946).


Architecture

- The building included: 10 Physics labs with X-rays, glass-blowing, electronics, mechanics, heat, sound, and photography; it also included a Physics office, a large classroom and a general lecture hall; in addition it included 4 Biology labs, several lecture halls, and classrooms as well as Chemistry Labs and 2,600 volume science library, a math department, a Psychology department, and a Botany department.

- There is a deck on the roof for meteorology and astronomy as well as for Physics students to conduct experiments with a pendulum tower.


Significant Events

- The Board of Trustees of the school voted on April 20, 1963 to dedicate the science hall to Dr. William Waddell Boyd's memory.


Fun Facts

- Dr. William Waddell Boyd was the President from 1914-1931 and the President Emeritus from 1931-1944.  He was inaugurated on November 4, 1914.

- The college grew tremendously over this period of time.  Patterson Place, Presser Hall, Kumler Memorial Chapel, Mary Lyon Hall, the Ernst Nature Theatre, Hillside, the Health Chimes, the Stillman Kelley Studio, three farms, a new heating plant, ten bridges, a new road and walkways, the athletic fields, and the golf course were all constructed throughout his presidency.