50 Years Ago (or thereabout)

From the Farthest-North Collegian, Nov. 1956

Work Starts On New Dorm

As fall semester opened at the University of Alaska, ground-breaking ceremonies were held to start construction of a new 100-woman dormitory. University officials plan for it to be ready for occupancy next fall.

The Alaska Public Works provided 50 per cent of the building's $735,000 cost. The Territory provided the other half of the funds.

The most expensive and attractive building yet planned, the new dormitory will be three stories high. It will be located on the site of the old hockey rink which has moved northward.

Richard Russell, university engineer, said that the dormitory's central unit will contain a 30x43-foot lobby with a large fireplace, and glass-paneled wall opening out upon a patio. The two sweptback wings will contain the living quarters. Each wing will measure 84 x 36 feet.

The living quarters will be suites instead of individual rooms. Each suite will have two bedrooms, a living room arranged for study, a toilet and a washroom. There will be many built-in features.

Four girls will be assigned to each of the units. There also will be several single rooms on each floor.

Russell said that the building will be built of structural steel and aluminum insulated panels which will be made to order at the factory and will arrive on campus ready to install. The central unit will be constructed of brick.

The new dormitory will boast a music room, sewing and ironing rooms, a laundry and a spacious apartment for the dormitory hostess. The building will have complete mechanical ventilation, automatic temperature control and hot water radiation. There will be a public address system with a speaker on each floor.

25 years ago:

From the UAF: Faculty & Staff Newsletter, Sept. 14, 1981

Update on the Rasmuson Library Addition

In November 1980, the voters of Alaska approved an $8.5 million bond issue to build an addition to the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library. During the 1981 Legislative session, an additional $4.7 million was allocated to the same project, for a total project budget of $13.2.

While substantial, this budget is not sufficient to allow the construction of a facility adequate to meet UAF library/media demands. Instead, the project has been divided into stage I and stage II.

During stage I, the addition will allow the library/media program to meet three program objectives: 1) to house the department of media services in adequate facilities to carry out their departmental mission; 2) to house the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections in an enhanced environment that will improve user access; and, 3) to move fully integrate various scattered library and media programs into one integrated facility to enhance user access to information resources.

Upon completion of the library addition, scheduled for 1984, the media services department will move from their temporary quarters in the Eielson building into the Rasmuson Library addition.

Their new facilities will include instructional television production facilities, a faculty and student media development room, a total media classroom, photographic production facilities, and a much improved graphics production area. Other facilities will include audio production, media library and review facility, and cinema production.