Gilchrist Hall (1963)
As the Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) began to face the surging enrollment of the post-World War II baby boom, officials recognized Old Gilchrist Hall and the Old Administration Building would be inadequate for administrative offices. Old Gilchrist Hall was completed in 1882 while the Old Administration Building was completed in 1896. Both buildings were deteriorating and their layouts did not lend themselves well to modern office design.
In 1961, the Iowa General Assembly approved construction of a new administration building with a budget of $720,000. The building would be known as the Administration Building. In March 1962, the Board of Regents awarded the architectural contract for the building to Altfillisch, Olson, Gray, and Thompson of Decorah. The Regents approved the architectural plans in October 1962 and increased the project budget to $750,000. Marshall Beard, planning administrator for the school, hoped bids could be taken by April 1963 and the building could be completed by summer 1964. Beard said the new building would feature a modular design allowing for easy expansion if needed. The 40,000 square foot building would include the Business Office, Student Personnel, Registrar’s Office, and Offices of the President, Dean of Instruction, and faculty members. The site would be south of 27th Street and west of the Arts and Industries Building, now known as Latham Hall.
The new modular design, with no windows on the east and west sides, caused some delays. First, the State Fire Marshal required an additional stairwell, and designing moveable partitions proved to be more difficult than originally anticipated. Beard reported the modifications would delay bids for at least a month. Bids were finalized in October 1963, with construction beginning shortly after. The project budget increased to $860,000 with a tentative completion date set for December 1964. The design called for a 120 foot square building, with the second level extending eight feet beyond the first level on all sides.
Mild fall and early winter weather allowed for construction progress. By January 1964, foundations and some structural walls were in place. Beard again emphasized the versatility of the building design; he stated an additional level could be added to the building and existing levels could be expanded. On November 18, 1964, a 1401 IBM computer was maneuvered into place in the new building and put into operation in December. Staff were scheduled to follow, but a strike by electricians and late equipment delayed the start of the move until March 8, 1965.
By March 26, the Registrar, Data Processing, and Business Offices had transferred their operations to the new building. By April 9, 1965, all offices, except College Relations, were in the new building. College Relations waited until photographic equipment could be set up and completed its move on May 7, 1965.
In the initial layout of the building, the first level included facilities for College Relations, the President, the Dean of Instruction, the Dean of Students, the Coordinator of Counseling, the Extension Service, and Alumni and Public School Relations. The second level included the Business Office, the Registrar's Office, and the Data Processing Center. There was also a basement for storage.
At its June 1965 meeting, the Board of Regents authorized planning for an additional level for the Administration Building. Just one month later, Central Hall burned, resulting in a significant loss of office and classroom space. In September 1965, the Regents authorized negotiations with Altfillisch, Olson, Gray, and Thompson for an addition to the new Administration Building.
The State College of Iowa (now the University of Northern Iowa) held an open house for a number of its new buildings, including the Library, Hagemann Hall, the Regents Dining Center, and the Administration Building, on October 10, 1965. President J.W. Maucker said, "We're quite proud of all of the new buildings at SCI and we're anxious to have folks in Waterloo and Cedar Falls visit us and get acquainted with the services these buildings provide."
In December 1965, the Regents approved planning for a 23,800 square foot addition to the east side and on top of the newly-completed Administration Building. The preliminary budget was $631,000. Funding would come from reimbursement from the Central Hall fire and from appropriations. Initially the new space was planned for faculty offices lost in the fire. By June 1966, plans had been modified: the east side addition would be larger and the new third level was eliminated. President Maucker cited rising construction costs as the reason for the change. The offices of the President and the Dean of Instruction, as well as the Board Room, would move to the second level. The addition would provide space for entry-level English classrooms and instructors' offices. The Regents approved the $631,000 budget for the project, estimated at 27,504 square feet, in September 1966. In October, in an open forum with students, President Maucker described the process of building the Administration Building as "a tale of woe," with too little money leading to a smaller space than was really needed.
The Regents approved contracts for the Administration Building addition in April 1967, and construction began in May. Delays arose in February 1968 when truck drivers refused to cross picket lines set up by campus Physical Plant workers.
Campus architect Robert Porter remained hopeful the addition would be completed by May with classrooms ready for students by June. However, the building addition was not completed for the beginning of summer classes in 1968, so, for a time, English classes were shifted to any available space scattered around campus, including Price Laboratory School. Following completion of the addition, classes were held in the Administration Building until 1973. Since then, the building has been used exclusively for administrative purposes.
The Administration Building held its functional name for the first 10 years of its existence. Then, in October 1975, the Regents approved a name change to Gilchrist Hall, in honor of James Cleland Gilchrist, the first chief executive of the school. It had been policy at UNI to name a facility for each of its former presidents. After the fire burned Old Gilchrist Hall in 1972, there was no facility named for Principal Gilchrist. The new name also eliminated confusion between the Old Administration Building and a New Administration Building. At the dedication ceremony on December 11, 1975, Professor William C. Lang characterized Principal Gilchrist as an "enthusiastic, bold, defiant, and impulsive man who sought too much for the school with the resources available."
Gilchrist Hall was the site of a student protest in early 1976. Project Are You Listening?, as the organizers called it, supported 24-hour visitation in the residence halls. They initially blocked several Gilchrist Hall entrances with snow and later "sat-in" in the building's restrooms.
In summer 1976, Career Planning and Placement moved into Gilchrist Hall. Around the same time, the Graduate College Office moved out of Gilchrist Hall and into Latham Hall. Late in 1977, Advising, Orientation, and Examination Services moved into Gilchrist Hall. In 1980, as a result of the "energy crisis," Gilchrist Hall was one of seven buildings on campus to undergo remodeling to improve energy efficiency. In early 1982, the Regents approved a $45,000 project to provide emergency power for essential services in the building. Early in 1983, the Regents approved a $700,000 project to renovate the heating, ventilating and air conditioning system.
When President Constantine Curris took office in 1983, he began a series of renovations, both within Gilchrist Hall and on the campus as a whole, which he believed would improve efficiency and enhance UNI's image. In 1984, Leland Thomson, director of facilities planning, announced a major change of office space in Gilchrist Hall. The most important included moving the Scheduling Office into part of the Registrar's Office, and re-arranging space in the President's Office. In fall 1985, remodeling of the Board Room began. During this $42,000 project asbestos was removed or stabilized and the room was completely redecorated. In 1987, the Financial Aid Office was moved closer to the Admissions Office. Phil Patton, acting head of Financial Aid, said, "The idea is to centralize some functions, much akin to the moving of some of the Division of Student Services to Bartlett."
On July 31, 1987, there was a small electrical fire in Gilchrist Hall. Campus officials stated no one was injured and little damage was done. However, a number of staff members stated in a letter to the Northern Iowan the fire caused a major disruption and inconvenience for both staff and visitors for several days after the fire. They also cited several concerns over safety systems and procedures. Late in September 1987, the Iowa Division of Labor Services alleged there had been unsafe asbestos handling procedures during the renovation of Gilchrist Hall and fined the university $2,880. Thomson said UNI would appeal the fine; ultimately, UNI agreed to pay $1,250, citing its unwitting violation of changed asbestos handling regulations. The overall renovation of the lower level of Gilchrist Hall was completed in August 1988.
In August 1987, the area around the west door of Gilchrist Hall was landscaped to make it more inviting. In October 1987, the university removed the final portions of old 27th Street, just north of Gilchrist Hall. The road had once passed directly through campus from east to west.
The offices of the Provost and the Vice President for Administration and Finance were remodeled in 1990. In 1992, Gilchrist Hall became one of the first campus buildings to go completely "smoke-free," with smoking prohibited throughout the building. In summer 1995 the pedestrian bridge north of the building was repaired, and Gilchrist Hall received a new electrical transformation station.
In January 2002, as part of a long term "Integrated Student Services Center" plan to concentrate a variety of student services in Gilchrist Hall, the offices of President Robert Koob and Provost Aaron Podolefsky moved to Seerley Hall. The office of Vice President for Student Services, Renee Romano, moved into Gilchrist Hall. Romano stated her hope that, if resources permitted offices to move into Gilchrist Hall, students would be able to find most of the services they needed under one roof. Much of that work was accomplished during an extensive remodeling project completed in 2004. The new Student Services Center on the second level of Gilchrist Hall opened on August 18, 2004 and was named in honor of Sue Follon, former vice president for educational and student services.
The renovated building was in operation for just over a year when arsonists set fire to a room on the lower level of the north side. This was one of three arson fires set over the 2005 Homecoming weekend. Initial assessments of fire damage indicated the building would be closed temporarily for clean up. Services located in Gilchrist Hall moved temporarily to other buildings on campus. However, closer inspection of the damage, conducted over a long period of time, revealed smoke and soot had spread throughout the ductwork and building. In addition, the asbestos containment system, which had been effective in binding asbestos in place during the fire, was now covered with soot and could not be cleaned; the asbestos would need to be removed.
By March 2006, the estimate to restore Gilchrist Hall reached $10.8 million. The General Assembly approved $2 million to cover the University's deductible portion of insurance coverage on the building. About $7.5 million would be spent on restoration and code updates, including asbestos removal and installation of a sprinkler system, while $1.5 million would go toward equipment replacement. The rest of the money would be spent on clean-up, furniture replacement and unanticipated expenses. Work on the restoration project was expected to last about a year.
On September 12, 2006, the Traveler's Insurance Company's engineering consultant, UNI construction engineering consultant, and an independent cost consultant agreed upon the scope of the restoration and estimated construction costs. Final settlement was expected by the week of October 2, 2006, however, negotiations continued. In November 2006, the Regents approved a settlement of $1.35 million for the removal of asbestos from Gilchrist Hall. Pending acceptable bids, the asbestos work could begin in February 2007 and take at least three months. On December 21, 2006, the university reached a settlement with the insurance company. At that time, the total estimated claim was as follows:
- $7,030,150 Building restoration (code updates included)
- $1,350,000 Equipment replacement
- $1,000,000 Extra expense coverage (estimate)
- $225,455 Furniture replacement in immediate area of fire
- $100,000 Miscellaneous/unknown items (estimate)
- $500,000 Fire clean-up (estimate)
- $10,205,605 Total potential claim (estimate)
In a 2008 article in the Waterloo Courier, Steve Pavelec, a facilities planning staff member, said the facilities planning staff had to convince the insurance company the damage was serious and extensive.
Even after the settlement, work was slow to begin. On March 13, 2007, the Board of Regents approved the schematic design, project description and $5,721,605 budget for Phase II of the Gilchrist Hall restoration project. Bids for the work expected in July 2007 with a project completion date of June 2008. The project would keep the Follon Student Services Center, Business Operations, Public Safety, Human Resource Services, and Compliance and Equity in Gilchrist Hall. Additionally, International Programs, Disability Services, and Vocational Rehabilitation would move into the building after its renovation. To make room for these additions, the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance, Information Technology Services, and Financial Accounting and Reporting Services would move to other locations.
By the summer of 2008, work was nearing completion and Gilchrist Hall was approaching the time when its former occupants could move back in. By the end of August 2008, the move back to Gilchrist Hall was essentially complete, and most offices were comparable to their pre-fire situations.
Today, Gilchrist Hall continues providing a variety of services in one location, making students’ college experiences easier to navigate.
Originally compiled by Library Assistant Susan Witthoft; edited by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, July 1996; substantially revised by Gerald L. Peterson, with research assistance by Jordan Ockerman and scanning by Library Assistant Gail Briddle, March 2003; updated September 28, 2011; photos and citations updated by Graduate Assistant Eliza Mussmann, September 8, 2022; content updated by Graduate Intern Marcea Seible, June 2025; revised by Hannah Bernhard, February 2026.