Hello! Before I jump right in with this blog, let me take a second to introduce myself. My name is TJ Willis, and I am currently an assistant director for Campus Activities as well as a doctoral student in Higher Education Administration. My research interests center around the college union (also known by its many other names including student union, university union and student center to name a few) and its role on campus. Additionally, I am currently part of an editorial team updating the College Union Idea, a historical overview of the college union through 1970. I also enjoy spending time researching my own genealogy. The combination of my interest in the college union and a passion for historical research leads to an appreciation of the history of the college union idea and the role of the union at NC State. It is my hope that through my series of blogs we engage in discussion about the history of the student union/center at NC State as well as examining the role it has played in not only building campus community but also the educational mission of the institution. Thanks for reading and coming along on this journey.
The American college union can trace its roots back to early college debating societies (student organizations) of the late 1800’s in the United States and back to Oxford and Cambridge in the early 1800s. Before the first college union building in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania, there was the college union idea. It was not just a building but also an organization of individuals enhancing campus life and building community. “The heart of the College Union, however, is not located in the steel and concrete of the building, but rather in the Union organization itself. The building is merely an instrument through which the college union idea is accomplished…” (Agromeck 1958) As we see later, this statement shows the importance of the students, faculty and staff at NC State who help bring life to the Student union/center through their involvement.
In 1953 the Agromeck (p. 150) described the college union idea here at NC State, since there was not yet a student union on campus, though it (later named the Erdahl-Cloyd Student Union) was under construction:
“The College Union idea has now been with us for almost two years. It did not wait for its new home, but it is anxiously awaiting its completion. With its appearance has emerged a more varied and virile leisure-time program at our Alma Mater. The committee members hope that each year the College Union idea will be a growing significant and meaningful force for a richer, fuller social and cultural life for our students.” The Erdahl-Cloyd Student Union was the first student union at NC State. The University Student Center, renamed the Talley Student Center in 1998, was the second.
It is important to take a brief look back at the history of the college union idea both nationally and here at NC State. It reminds us of where we have been and where we are going. It also reminds us of the great history of NC State students in collectively working to enhance the campus. Just as in 1953 and 1971, we are now anxiously awaiting the completion of the student union/center, another step in advancing the Role of the College Union at NC State but also providing a place to build and strengthen OUR campus community.