Back to the Future

Restoration, modernization planned for Kauke Hall

As Kauke Hall begins its second century of service, the College is preparing to embark on a top-to-bottom interior renovation that will keep the building’s feeling of intellectual community, restore its original architectural integrity, and upgrade its systems.

To fund the renovations, The Walton Family Foundation is dedicating up to $8 million as a challenge grant. All gifts toward Kauke Hall received by March 1, 2005, will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Walton gift. If funds are raised in time, work will begin that spring for a fall semester 2006 re-opening.

The $18 million project will create 20 flexible classrooms and seminar rooms, 66 faculty offices, and a variety of informal meeting and study spaces, including a ground-floor coffee shop. The entire building will be brought into compliance with regulations for the disabled.

Despite all the modernization, the renovation also will celebrate Kauke’s character. Dropped ceilings will be peeled back to reveal original woodwork and windows obscured for forty years. "Kauke will look like what it is," says Jeff Roche (history), "the intellectual heart of the campus."