Health and Personnel Building

User Note: Walk across the parking lot towards Heritage Hall and use the map below to get to the pinned point. The area of the former Health and Personnel Building is now a green space, which is located to the left of the parking lot, so feel free to stand on the grass instead of on the pavement.

The Health and Personnel Building was the last structure to be built atop Prospect Hill and was completed in 1939. The three stories were made up of the infirmary, health services, the Speech and Hearing Clinic, as well as various other health clinics that gave real-world experience to students in the medical field. In addition to these clinics, the building also held many institutional offices, such as the Dean of Men, the Dean of Women, as well as the Educational Service Library prior to 1952, and the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology. The building was demolished in 2013 and the space is now being utilized as green space. 

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The Health and Personnel Building’s construction was authorized on November 9, 1938 and completed the quadrangle that formed the center of Western’s original campus. Constructed by architect Lewis J. Sarvis, this health services center was officially opened in the fall semester of 1939 and featured around 21,000 square feet.

The interior included examination rooms, treatment rooms, an infirmary, a reception room, a semi-weekly dental clinic, physiotherapy workspace, classrooms, student advisory activity space, and offices. In addition, the Charles Van Riper Speech and Hearing Clinic, which was one of the most widely publicized services that Western provided, was also housed here. This clinic was a cornerstone for students who wanted to become speech correction teachers and helped students that had difficulties speaking.

The Health and Personnel Building also housed the Psycho-educational clinic under the direction of Homer L.J. Carter, which was the first in Michigan to be located outside of Detroit. The Psycho-educational clinic served to examine students with difficulties in order to suggest remedial work for them, as well as provide intelligence tests to students which lasted until the 1950s. Also housed in this building were the offices of the Dean of Men, the Dean of Women, and the Director of Personnel and Guidance, as well as the Educational Service Library prior to 1952.

As a result of the new plans that were drawn up for the land atop Prospect Hill, the Health and Personnel Building was demolished in 2013. The land has not been redeveloped and is today being utilized as green space. 

Knauss, James O. The First Fifty Years: A History of Western Michigan College of Education, 1903-1953. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan College of Education, 1953. 

University Libraries. Rep. Campus Building Inventory - Yearly Summary, n.d. 

Massie, Larry B. Brown and Golden Memories: Western Michigan University's First Century. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University, 2003. 

Rep. Buildings and Grounds - Undergraduate Catalog. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University, 1968. 

Carlson, Sharon; Glatz, Jason, WMU Facilities Management. “WMU Campus History” [storymap], https://campus-history.library.wmich.edu/index.html. (Accessed February 17, 2022)