Efforts of the Morrill Hall Student Committee have resulted in the raising of more than $32,000, money that will go toward the restoration of the historic campus building.

More than $29,000 of the funds have been raised for the restoration of Morrill Hall since March of 2002. All of the $32,000 dollars raised by the committee has come entirely from student donations.

Morrill Hall was built in 1890 at the cost of $28,739. It will cost approximately $10 million to restore, of which $4.9 million has been raised. The building has never undergone any sort of restoration, but restoration is necessary due to its deteriorating condition. When the building is finished, it will house the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Christian Petersen Art Museum and the Visual Learning Center for Textiles and Clothing.

The Morrill Hall Student Committee currently has six members. The group initially had fifteen members but participation is down due to the recent graduation of participants. The group began meeting in November of 2002 after ISU President Gregory Geoffroy asked for the ideas of students as to what should be done with the building. Using the answers he received, Geoffroy selected members for the committee.

Lynette Pohlman, director of University Museums and adviser to the Morrill Hall Student Committee, said the committee has been enthusiastic about their work.

“It’s nice when you have a representation of the people who use the hall,” Pohlman said. “I’ve been so pleased with the financial support [the committee has] been able to provide.”

In June of 1996, Morrill Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Morrill Hall was named after Justin Smith Morrill, a congressman from Vermont who was the author of the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862, which created the land grant university system.

“The building is important to ISU because of the Land-Grant Act. Iowa was one of the first states to accept the Land-Grant Act, which makes it a very important part of the university’s history,” said Nancy Gebhart, president of the Morrill Hall Student Committee and senior in art and design.

The committee strives to create awareness about the building by participating in different activities, including a float in the Veishea parade and the distribution of information on campus, Gebhart said.

Gebhart said she thinks the renovated hall will benefit all ISU students in some way, and the Center for Teaching Excellence will help a wide variety of students.

“The building will be amazing. It will benefit everyone as a place to relax, study, or just hang out,” Gebhart said. “[The Center for Teaching Excellence] will help everyone get the quality of teaching they deserve, because [students are] paying for it.”

Pohlman said even if Morrill Hall wasn’t the oldest academic building on campus, it would still be meaningful to the Iowa State community.

“If we care about our cultural heritage, we should care about using it in today’s world,” she said. “History comes alive when you’re interested … buildings have stories to tell, we just have to get them out.”