From the Desk of the Chancellor, June 7, 2010

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The first week of June has brought some visible and not so visible changes to the campus landscape. On the west side of campus, Michigan’s lane restrictions have ceased, and Lansing Street has reopened. The State Board of Health building’s demolition continues. Union Drive remains closed west of the Rotary Building parking lot, as does the drive south of Ball Residence Hall.

As streets reopen and buildings go up or come down, other changes may not be so noticeable (at least for the time being). We have just received approval to rename two of our longest-standing buildings to reflect better their actual uses. The former Robert W. Long Hospital will now be Long Hall. The former Willis D. Gatch Clinical Building will be renamed Gatch Hall. These changes will eliminate confusion for visitors, who might think these are facilities for the provision of hospital or clinical care, while still preserving their historical associations for the campus.

Long Hospital had been named in honor of the Indianapolis physician who had been its first endowment contributor. It opened during the first year of World War I. Just two years later, the hospital would be bombarded with cases from the influenza pandemic.

The Gatch Clinical Building, named for the former dean of the School of Medicine (1932-46), served as a training facility for thousands of health care professionals over the years. In 1909, when he worked as chief of surgery, Dr. Gatch invented the adjustable hospital bed, now known as the “Gatch Bed,” which elevates a patient's head or feet by way of a crank.

Two interior rooms in the IUPUI Campus Center will also be renamed—to posthumously honor alumnus Yale Pratt (Room 405) and former faculty member Tony Sherrill (Room 409).

Yale Pratt was pursuing a master’s degree in sociology in the IU School of Liberal Arts when he died tragically young. In his honor, his parents established the Yale Pratt Mentoring Fund to provide scholarships for freshmen aged 25 to 35 enrolled in University College, where Yale had been very active as an undergraduate.

Rowland A. “Tony” Sherrill, had been chair of the Department of Religious Studies and
director of the Center for American Studies. He was coeditor of Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation, published by the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture, which he was instrumental in founding. He held the first Millennium Chair in Liberal Arts at IUPUI.

Because the Campus Center is a central gathering place for our academic community, commemorating Yale Pratt, a model of student engagement, and Tony Sherrill, a model of faculty engagement, signals how highly we value participating actively in the life of the campus.

Revisions to the campus map and signage to reflect these new names will soon be in place.

Comments? Write chancllr@iupui.edu .