Residence halls as historical evidence of educational ideals
Carla Yanni, a renowned authority on the social history of architecture in Great Britain and the United States, writes that “Residence halls are not mute containers for the temporary storage of youthful bodies and emergent minds. Dormitories constitute historical evidence of the educational ideals of the people who build them. The varied designs of residence halls,” she continues, “reflect changes in student life, as well as college officials’ evolving aspirations for their institutions, the students themselves, and society at large.”[1]
Today, as we dedicate the splendidly renovated Ball Residence Hall, we celebrate the preservation of a window into the history of the IUPUI campus—one that indeed reflects the educational ideals of those who built it. And nearly a century after its original construction, the renovation we celebrate today ensures that Ball Hall will continue to reflect our aspirations for IUPUI, for its students, and for society at large.
The impact of residence halls on student success
Indiana University’s aspirations for its students are that they have access to an affordable education of the highest quality—one that prepares them for rewarding and fulfilling lives and careers. And while they are here, the university aspires to provide them with housing and study conditions that allow them to give their best to their studies and get the most from them.
Leaders in American higher education have known for many decades that residence halls are a vitally important part of students’ academic and personal development.
A vast body of research has documented that students living on campus are more likely to interact with faculty, participate in extracurricular activities, and use institutional resources.[2] This increased engagement and involvement is, in turn, a determinant of improved critical thinking ability, intellectual growth, persistence to graduation, and satisfaction with college. As one study concludes: “While many factors influence a student’s level of academic engagement, the single most important factor identified in previous research is living on campus [and] in a residence hall.”[3]
Much of the major scholarship in the second half of the 20th century about the correlation between student success and residential life was, in fact, generated by Indiana University faculty members. In addition, IU student affairs professionals played a major role in advancing the concept of residence education and maximizing the potential of residence halls to contribute to students’ education.
As these scholars and many of their colleagues have noted, one of the primary reasons for the correlation between living on campus and a variety of important student outcomes is the sense of community that residence halls create and sustain.
Ball Hall: Enhancing student life at IUPUI
Ball Hall has fostered a strong sense of community since its construction in 1928, when it was home to a tight-knit community of nursing students. Its construction was made possible by a gift from the Ball brothers of Muncie, Indiana, whose highly successful company became known for its home canning jars.
Ball Hall was later expanded in two phases to provide additional housing for student nurses. The first two floors of Ball Annex were constructed in 1945, followed by the third and fourth floors in 1957.
Many campus traditions have grown up around Ball Hall and the adjacent Ball Nurses’ Sunken Gardens, including those associated with beloved statue of Eve, known to nursing students as “Flo,” after Florence Nightingale. Nursing students would often decorate or pose for Commencement photos with “Flo,” but unstable ground necessitated her removal from the garden in 1997. With the refurbishment of the garden in 2016, we celebrated her return to her traditional home.
The splendidly renovated Ball Hall and the refurbished Ball Nurses’ Sunken Gardens complement the nearby Rotary Building, which was renovated in 2014, and together they now form one beautiful architectural whole.
While Ball Residence Hall is now home to students with a wide variety of majors, they and future students will also find a sense of community in the marvelously renovated facility. Here, students will continue to find opportunities for personal growth, social interaction, and opportunities to gain leadership experience. They will engage in formal and informal discussions with faculty and peers; participate in cultural activities; meet many other students from around the state, the country, and the world; and learn more about others’ perspectives, customs, and traditions. They will be part of a community of learners.
The renovated Ball Hall, of course, complements the splendidly renovated University Tower, which opened in 2013, and North Hall, the first new traditional residence hall constructed on the IUPUI campus, which we dedicated in 2016. These facilities were renovated and constructed to help meet the enormous demand by IUPUI students for on-campus housing and to enable them to receive the many benefits from living on campus that I have described.
The renovation of Ball Hall and University Tower and the construction of North Hall are also part of Indiana University’s commitment to providing new or renovated student housing on all of our campuses across the state, including new student housing completed at IU South Bend and IU Southeast, as well as a major initiative to upgrade all of the residence halls at IU Bloomington.
Special thanks
On behalf of the entire university, I want to commend a number of people whose dedicated efforts have helped make the project we celebrate today possible.
I want to commend Chancellor Nasser Paydar for his enthusiastic support for this project. I also want to commend Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Camy Broeker, who has made major contributions to the financial modeling behind the Ball Hall renovation as well as other new construction and renovation projects on the IUPUI campus, and as well commend Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Eric Weldy, from whom we will hear in a few moments.
I also want to commend Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities Tom Morrison, as well as the many design and construction professionals, both internal and external, who played major roles in this project.
And, finally and more generally, I would like to thank our Trustees for their steadfast and particularly enthusiastic support, not only for the residence hall we dedicate today, but also for their support in general for the construction and renovation of well-designed, functional student housing at IU, and of numerous other building and renovations projects across the whole university.
Conclusion
As Gregory Blimling, an IU alumnus and a nationally recognized expert in the field of college student affairs, has written: “Few students choose colleges based on the quality of residence hall programs, yet those who live on campus will spend more time in residence halls than classrooms, and their residence hall experiences will significantly influence their success in college.”[4]
In the coming years, the residents of Ball Hall will find a living space that nurtures their success.
They will find friendships, support, and community.
And on a campus that has, for more than half a century, been committed to educational excellence—a campus that has grown and changed over nearly 50 years in response to student needs—they will find in Ball Hall a welcoming campus home.
Source notes
[1] Carla Yanni, Living on Campus: An Architectural History of the American Dormitory, (University of Minnesota Press, 2019), ii.
[2] Ruth N. Lopez Turley, Geoffrey Wodtke, “College Residence and Academic Performance: Who Benefits From Living on Campus?” Urban Education, volume 45, 2010, 508.
[3] Ibid, 507.
[4] Gregory S. Blimling, Student Learning in College Residence Halls: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why, (John Wiley & Sons, 2015), xv.