Marshall University Admissions Campus Tour

Entries on This Tour

1. Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center

The Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center is home of the Marshall University MU School of Theatre, featuring two venues, the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse stage and the smaller, Francis-Booth Experimental Theatre. Adjacent is the Jomie Jazz Center. Along with performance space and a spacious lobby and atrium, the center has classrooms, space for stage design, workshops, and more. Marshall University Theatre shares the box office in the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center with the Marshall Artists Series.

2. Corbly Hall, Marshall University

Corbly Hall is the home of Marshall University's internationally accredited Lewis College of Business as well as the English and Economics Departments. When the four story building was dedicated in November 1980, it was the largest academic building in the West Virginia state system of higher education. It includes some of the largest lecture halls on campus, one of which holds up to 150 people. The facility is named after Lawrence J. Corbly (1862-1935) who served as the last principal and first president of Marshall College from 1896 until 1915. Corbly made significant improvements to Marshall during his tenure, including growing the student body and increasing the quality of the school's curriculum.

3. John Deaver Drinko Library, Marshall University

The John Deaver Drinko Library has been the primary library on campus since it opened in 1998. It stands at the former site of the College of Science Building, Northcott Hall (1915-1995), which was demolished to make room for the new library. Campus officials developed plans for a new library throughout the 1990s as a way to both replace the older Morrow Library and provide new technological and multimedia opportunities to students. The Drinko Library success in being built was that of both James Wade Gilley (President of Marshall University during 1991-1999) and John Deaver Drinko. In fact, the library was named in honor of prominent attorney John Deaver Drinko (a former student at Marshall University), for being one of the largest donor for the library project. Drinko gives Marshall students a place to study, collaborate with peers, utilize computers and access thousands of books, journals, and electronic materials. The library today contains over 180,000 books and other materials, reading and study areas, high-speed Internet and computers, presentation rooms, IT services such as that included but not limited to: houses offices of Information Technology, University Libraries, Instructional Technology, University Computing Services, and Telecommunications, a cafe, and a 24/7 computer lab.

4. Old Main, Marshall University

Now the central administration building for Marshall University, Old Main dates back to 1838 with the construction of a small, four-room brick building to house Marshall Academy. The original structure was expanded with the addition of new sections in 1856, 1870, and 1896. The 1838 and 1856 portions were demolished in 1898 to allow for the construction of a much larger building that reflected Marshall and Huntington's growth. The final, major addition to Old Main was the distinct, Gothic section built on the western side in 1907. Old Main originally housed various facilities for Marshall including dormitories, classrooms, a library, auditorium, dining hall, and chapel. Today it is home to administrative offices and spaces for certain organizations. Old Main was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

5. Smith Hall, Marshall University

Smith Hall is an academic complex that consists of Stewart Smith Hall, Evelyn Hollberg Smith Music Hall, the Birke Art Gallery, and the Communications Building. The building opened in 1967 and replaced a former naval barracks that acted as temporary classrooms. Smith Hall is named after popular longtime Marshall President Stewart H. Smith, who served from 1946 to 1968. Today the facility is utilized for many general education classes. It is home to many College of Liberal Arts and College of Arts and Media Departments, including the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications and the School of Music. Smith Hall also contains a student lounge, cafe, speech clinic, offices for The Parthenon, and the WMUL radio station.

6. James E. Morrow Library and Marshall Special Collections

Morrow Library was named after former University President, James E. Morrow, and was completed in 1931 to replace the original library on the second floor of Old Main. When the library first opened, it housed study areas and Marshall’s art school. In 1965, a project began to expand the library and added the stacks towers along with wraparound additions to the side and back of the building. During this renovation, the main study hall was split into two floors, and was completed in 1967. In 1998, the John Deaver Drinko Library opened and became Marshall’s main library. However, Morrow continued to serve Marshall by housing the University Special Collections. Today the library is home to a variety of collections and the university’s more rare and valuable books. Some of Morrow’s major collections are the Rosanna Blake Civil War Collection, the Hoffman Medical Science collection, and the Chuck Yeager Collection.

7. Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex

The Arthur Weisburg Family Applied Engineering Complex was opened in August of 2015, and offers engineering students state of the art equipment. Marshall University did not have an engineering building on campus for nearly thirty years until the installation of the Arthur Weisburg Family Engineering Laboratories building in 2006. The West Virginia Board of Regents phased out the engineering program at Marshall University in the early 1970s, and did not revive the program until the early 2000s. Art Weisburg is the owner of State Electric, and donated generously so that Marshall could once again host an engineering program.

8. Science Building, Marshall University

Marshall University's Science Building was constructed in 1950 to replace Northcott Science Hall. Due to a growing enrollment rate, the Science Building expanded in 1984 to offer better laboratories and lecture halls. The Science Building is home to the College of Science, the Schools of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Forensic & Criminal Justice Sciences, Mathematics & Applied Information, and Physical Sciences.

9. Harris Hall, Marshall University

Harris Hall was dedicated in 1976 and is named in honor of Arvil Ernest Harris, who was a political science and social studies professor, as well as the first Dean of the Graduate School. Harris Hall replaced Music Hall, a former retail space purchased by Marshall in 1926 and used to house the Music Department until the construction of Smith Music Hall. Throughout its history Harris Hall has housed many of Marshall's liberal arts programs. Today it is home to the history, geography, psychology, counseling, classics, philosophy, and religious studies departments.

10. Gullickson Hall, Marshall University

Gullickson Hall was built in 1961 to accommodate a growing student population. It originally housed physical education classrooms, facilities for sports teams to practice, and space for intramural and recreational activities. Originally called the Men's Health and Physical Education Building, the structure was renamed in 1964 after former physical education professor Otto A. "Swede" Gullickson. Gullickson worked at Marshall for over 30 years, overseeing the development of the school's intramural program into one of the largest in the nation.Today Gullickson Hall is attached to the adjacent Cam Henderson Center, and it is home to the Marshall ROTC program.

11. Cam Henderson Center

The Cam Henderson Center is the home of the Thundering Herd basketball, volleyball, swimming, and diving programs. The complex was constructed in 1981 during a building boom on Marshall's campus. It is named in honor of legendary Marshall basketball coach Cam Henderson (1890-1956), one of the most successful coaches in the school's history. The Center allowed Marshall's basketball team to play on campus rather than at the Memorial Field House, and it provided new space for student recreational activities. The basketball arena is notable for being the site of the world's longest recorded college basketball shot, thrown by Bruce Morris on February 7, 1985. In addition to the arena, the Center also houses the Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium, named after a longtime chairman of the Physical Education Department.

12. Education Building, Marshall University

This building was constructed in 1937 and known as Jenkins Hall until 2020. The building originally served as a laboratory school where enrollees of the college's teacher preparation program could teach students under the guidance of experienced teachers and their professors. The school served grades kindergarten through twelve until 1970 when the building was repurposed to house Marshall University classes and offices. The third-oldest building on campus, the Education Building includes the Learning Resource Center, a mathematics education laboratory, a science education laboratory, an electronic classroom, and the June Harless Center for Rural Educational Research and Development. The building was originally named for Confederate General and Cabell County native Albert Gallatin Jenkins, a controversial figure in his own time following a raid in Pennsylvania where his men captured and sold Black women and children into slavery. In 2020, the Board of Governors reversed a previous decision and voted unanimously to remove Jenkins' name in the wake of protests around the nation that were a response to the police killing of Goerge Floyd.

13. Marshall University Memorial Fountain

Designed by artist Harry Bertoia and dedicated in 1972, this fountain pays tribute to the seventy-five people who perished in the 1970 Marshall University Plane Crash and the resilience of the university community. Built of welded copper and bronze tubes, the fountain represents life and upward growth and stands in the middle of the Memorial Student Center plaza. From the time of its dedication, this monument has become the central landmark on campus and is the site of an annual ceremony held here each year on November 14, the anniversary of the crash. During the ceremony, the fountain is turned off in remembrance of the 75 who perished that day. The two audio files embedded within this entry include portions of speeches given at the dedication of the fountain and reflections from members of the Marshall University community.

14. Memorial Student Center, Marshall University

The Marshall University Memorial Student Center opened in 1971 to provide students with a place to socialize, rest, and study on campus. It replaced an older facility, the Shawkey Student Union, that had been in use since 1933. The MSC was named in honor of the victims of the November 14, 1970 plane crash and serves as a living memorial. Today it houses a food court, lounge areas, the campus bookstore, a recreational area, various offices, and several meeting rooms, dining halls, and event spaces.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Marshall University Admissions Campus Tour

Created by Ella Curry on April 2nd 2018, 12:14:15 pm.

Get a QR Code for this tour

Description

Welcome to Marshall University! We are so happy you have decided to visit our beautiful, compact campus. As you walk through campus try to imagine yourself as a student here at Marshall. Centered in the heart of Huntington, Marshall University offers more than 150 undergraduate majors housed in nine colleges. To learn how to become a Marshall student please visit us at www.marshall.edu/admissions today, or call 304-696-3646.

Entries on This Tour

Marshall University Admissions Campus Tour

Description

Share