Lehigh University (Pennsylvania)

Sothy Eng, who received his Ph.D. with us at Texas Tech and then did a post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA, has settled into his new position at Lehigh University. Sothy is a great photographer and has been kind enough to share some of his work here at America's College Campuses. Some of his Lehigh photographs are available here.

Bowling Green State Univ. (Ohio)

Bowling Green State University (BGSU) sits in northwest Ohio, a little over 20 miles south of the city of Toledo. For the last 10 miles of the trip southward, extensive farmland leads down to BGSU.

The University likes to display its initials and Falcon logo throughout campus, via shaped hedges and banners in the school colors of brown and orange.

Many of the academic buildings appear to be undergoing renovation, such as Williams Hall, which hosts a number of social-science disciplines. Note also the brown/orange shade of the bricks.

Much of the campus consists of green spaces, literally as in the case of this lawn...

...along with eye-catching designs such as the huge mural on one side of Jerome Library. Near the library is BGSU's Carillon Bell Tower, which looks similar, in my view, to the one at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Beginning this Fall term, BGSU basketball and other indoor teams will have a new home, the Stroh Center, on the front edge of campus. Immediately in front of the new arena are the Falcon statue (lower left in the following montage) and, in a "green" gesture, a number of parking places reserved for cars with desirable environment properties.



I am used to the campuses and adjoining commercial districts at Midwestern (Big 10) schools such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Northwestern, Indiana, and Ohio State being easily walkable. Despite being in the same region as these institutions, BGSU (a member of the Mid-America Conference) seems considerably auto-centric, as a car appears necessary (or at least helpful) to navigate the wide streets and highways surrounding the campus.

UMass Amherst

Nestled in western Massachusetts is UMass Amherst, the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system. Hal Grotevant, a UMass professor, posted some pictures on Facebook that he had taken on campus, and he has kindly agreed to let me repost them here.

In the background is the iconic Old Chapel, a structure that apparently is badly in need of infrastructure repair.

Along with its quaint architecture, UMass also features more modern styles. Shown below is a montage of Tobin Hall, the psychology building.



UMass's W.E.B. Dubois Library, the tallest library in the U.S. at 26 stories, is famous for its falling brick chips. I had read many years ago that engineers had failed to take into account the weight of the books when calculating the physical strength requirements of the floors. The engineering flaw theory, however, may just be an urban legend. I visited UMass Amherst once, in 1996, and there were some areas outside the library that were fenced off to prevent pedestrians from walking where there may be falling brick.

Also in the realm of legends is the Minuteman Statue, shown next. Students apparently find the statue a source of good luck before exams. 

Lastly, we have the Campus Pond, a UMass landmark in warm weather and in cold.



Western Michigan University

This is probably my most minimal entry, as the photos were taken aboard a (mostly) moving train in snowy conditions. Nevertheless, I have a shot of a Western Michigan University athletic facility (University Arena/Read Field House), as well as of the train station in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Northern Illinois University

Located about an hour west of Chicago is the agricultural town of DeKalb, Illinois, home of Northern Illinois University. One of our Texas Tech doctoral students, Katie Gerst, received her Master's degree at NIU and had some photos of the school that she was willing to share. Shown first is the castle-like Altgeld Hall, the first building on the NIU campus, named in honor of the governor who helped with the founding of the university. Katie photographed Altgeld Hall from two perspectives.

Next is the Holmes Student Center. I think it's somewhat unusual for a student-union building to have a high-rise design (which is even more noticeable on the Center's website), which suggests a lot of office space and meeting rooms, but potentially a shortage of expansive commons areas. There is something called the Sky Room on the 16th floor that looks interesting, however.

The third building, Adams Hall, was a women's dormitory from 1949-1967, until being converting to an administration building.

Gilbert Hall, a residence hall in the past and perhaps on the verge of being restored to that role in the future, is the topic of current construction planning.

Still Hall, at one point a gym, appears to host facilities in media, technology, and engineering.

The Law School's Swen Parson Hall sports a traditional academic look.

Shown last among the campus buildings is Williston Hall; like other buildings seen thus far, Williston was once a dorm and now holds offices.

Finally, every college town should have at least one quirky, colorfully decorated business establishment in the area. Maybe I'm reading too much into the picture, but perhaps the corn stalk symbolizes the human spine, which Dr. Van helps straighten out for his patients.