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" What a long
After 43 years of change,
b Robb Frederick
The Collegian
Buttoning his yellow cardigan
sweater against the evening chill,
Ben Lane stares at the wire fence
surrounding Niagara field, the
future site of Behrend's new
library/academic complex.
"A library is symbolic of a
worthy institution," he says. "It
represents the core, the heart and
soul of a university. And now
that we're finally getting a library
that can fulfill the needs of this
College, we're going to be able
to do anything."
For Lane, associate professor
emeritus of English, the
construction of the new library
complex represents the latest step
in Behrend Colleges expansion --
an expansion which began on
Oct. 30, 1948, when a local
paper manufacturing tycoon's
isolated summer retreat became
part of the Penn State system.
"I feel grateful that the
opportunity to make this gift
came exactly as it did," an
elegantly clad Mary Behrend
announced that day. "It will
further one of his (Ernst
Behrend's) greatest interests --
education -- to be carried on
where he loved best to be --
Glenhill Farm."
With those words, spoken
from the courtyard of the familiar
Glenhill Farmhouse, Mrs.
Behrend gave birth to the Behrend
Center. Within months, the 422-
acre estate she and her husband
built to escape "the mill yard
with the engines snorting past
the front porch" was populated by
a class of approximately 146
freshmen, walking the dirt paths
to and from makeshift classrooms
or meeting with one of the
Center's 10 full-time faculty
members.
Today, more than 3,000
students crowd the College's
sidewalks, working their way
through a diversifying catalog of
undergraduate courses and
continuing studies toward one of
four associate degrees or 24 four
year degree programs available at
Behrend
The rich history of the
campus remains, however;
embedded in the cracked paint of
the Glenhill Farmhouse, the
cramped hallways of the Carriage
House, and the rustic exterior of
the Studio Theatre.
It is this history that embraces
students with feelings of
familiarity. And it is what brings
Ben Lane back to campus for yet
another evening stroll, marked by
discussion of past planning
sessions, long-abandoned rules
and regulations, and the future of
Behrend College.
"This is where the campus
started," explains Lane, standing
where the main drive splinters
into the Carriage House parking
lot. "These buildings, from the
Carriage House to the Studio
Theatre, were the only buildings
on campus. Beyond that, the land
was nothing but fields and
strawberry patches."
The Carriage House, which
was originally used as servant's
quarters and a five-car garage,
became the faculty housing
building. The Center's few
professors, many of whom served
as individual departments, lived
there with their families.
Rooted in the center of the
Win
The Collegian
original campus was the Glenhill
Farmhouse, which housed the
administrative offices. The
upstairs floor served as a
dormitory for about 22 women
who lived under a 9 p.m. curfew;
the lower floor contained the
cafeteria and a few classrooms.
Most of the Behrend Center's
first classes were held across the
sidewalk in Turnbull Hall. This
building, formerly the Behrends'
barn, was still undeveloped when
the Center opened, and classroom
space was limited to the first
floor.
Through the years, Turnbull
Hall would serve other functions
as well, becoming the cafeteria
(lower floor), and housing the
library (second floor), which had
"outgrown" its earlier locations
in the Carriage House loft and the
Studio Theatre.
"The students always took the
library in stride," Lane explains.
"In the first years, the Student
Government Association actually
joined the "Book of the Month"
club and &mated the books to the
campus library."
The land beyond the Studio
Theatre, which was used as a
recreation room after the sparse
library resources were moved to
Turnbull Hall, consisted of horse
paths and open fields, which the
State Police used as target ranges.
The campus' first growth
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And away we go: A sizable crowd gathered on the lawn of 1
1948, to hear Mary Behrend dedicate the Behrend Center. "M
with young people and to be of help to them to the best of hi
busy he was, there was always time in his day to listen to the
to him."
Greg Geibel/The Collegian
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students as agents .of change."
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