The question of what to do with Morrill Hall may soon be answered.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy is currently searching for ideas and proposals concerning the building, which has been empty since 1998. Constructed in 1891, it is one of the oldest structures on campus and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has functioned as a chapel, museum, lab, and even a barber shop through its history.

“There are plenty of very creative people on this campus, and I want to hear their ideas,” Geoffroy said.

Private fund raising is necessary for the restoration of Morrill Hall because the university doesn’t have money to spare and state budget constraints offer little hope of state funding, he said.

“We must have a really good use for the building identified” before we try to raise funds, Geoffroy said.

“If we’re going to restore the building, we must raise $8 to $9 million to do it,” Geoffroy said. If funds cannot be raised to restore Morrill Hall “we must be forced to make the decision to tear it down.”

Both the interior and the exterior of Morrill Hall are in need of extensive restoration. The exterior bricks were sandblasted and sealed in the 1960s to prevent further decline, but that process has done little to save the bricks, which are porous and allow moisture to seep into the building.

The interior of the building suffers from falling plaster, peeling paint, vines climbing the inside walls, warped floors and water damage.

The money needed to restore the building is twice what it would cost to build a new building of the same size, said Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance.

Among the options proposed for the building are a faculty club and a restaurant. Madden questioned whether a restaurant would get enough business to pay for the cost.

“The location is a challenge for vehicular access,” he said.

Despite the number of ideas presented, Madden said “no one has come forward with a financial game plan.”

Relocation of the building is also a possibility, Geoffroy said, with architects and designers incorporating parts of the original building into the new design.

“We could make it look as much like the original Morrill Hall as possible,” he said.

Many faculty, students and alumni expressed nostalgia for Morrill Hall after reading an article in the March/April 2000 issue of “Visions,” a magazine published by of the Alumni Association.

“Viewing Morrill Hall as a financial liability with nothing to offer future generations of Iowa State students and staff serves only to diminish the commitment, hard work and dedication of those who came before us,” said Tracy Sothman, 1989 graduate in sociology, in the article.

Nostalgia aside, Geoffroy still weighs the benefits versus the costs: “Is it worth spending $4 million for history?”