8A / NEWS / MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Campus buildings may be added to Historic Register
BY KELLY MORGAN
kmorgan@kansan.com
More than 130 years after Walt Whitman described the University as "beautiful as dreams," it is still cited as one of the most charming campuses in the country.
campuses in the country." "People take a lot of pride in this campus," said Brenna Buchanan, president of the student chapter of Historic Mount Oread Friends. "It really contributes to the experience of being a college kid at KU."
Yet the need for larger and more contemporary facilities may be putting the University's traditional charm in danger. This concern is what drove the Historic Mount Oread Friends and the KU administration to create a historic district along Jayhawk Boulevard.
along payhaye Doubout. "The district would ensure that any changes that the University was thinking about making were thought out," jeffery Weinberg, the assistant provost, said.
The proposed district would run from the Chi Omega fountain to the Kansas Union and would include all buildings except Wesco Hall, which has been altered too recently to qualify for the district.
The process began in 2008 when the University received a $130,000
or otherwise.
"Basically, the interim chancelor didn't think it would be appropriate to pursue an historic district if they were not going to be there to see it through." Weinberg said.
grant from the Getty Foundation, a California-based philanthropic organization, but came to a temporary halt because of the retirement of former Chancellor Hemenway.
When Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little was hired, support for the historic district was revived. University officials set the goal of forming a committee by this upcoming January to address the historic district.
Within that time, the committee would work on extensive paperwork and hire an official consultant to verify that the buildings qualify for the National Register of Historical Places. A representative from the Historic Mount Oread Friends said that the group would pay part of the fee to hire a consultant.
"If we start the process by January, it will take about a year or a year and a half to achieve our goal." Weinberg said.
Ken Armitage, president of the Historic Mount Oread Friends, said it would be easier to nominate the buildings of Jayhawk Boulevard
"It's more time efficient," Armitage said.
as a group
Weinberg said the historic district would also come with a 25 percent tax credit that would lower the costs of maintaining campus. According to the National Register of Historical Places website, the University could still make any changes to buildings as long as federal money wasn't involved. The University would be encouraged to discuss the plans with a historic preservation officer in Topeka before making changes to ensure there were no violations.
there were it. "It's another stop that would make sure that before any major changes were made they were really necessary to maintaining the campus." Armitage said.
campus. Darcy Singleton, a freshman from St. Louis, said she thought that a historic district would benefit the University for years to come.
"The campus was definitely a big reason why I decided to come to KU." Singleton said. "I just thought that the old buildings had a lot of character and made campus a really nice place to be."
Edited by Emily McCoy
Rocks, business, scissors
Senator Pat Roberts (middle) waits with Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little for the ribbon to be cut at the dedication for the new Bioscience and Technology Business Center located at 2029 Becker Drive on West Campus. The event, which featured numerous speakers from around the city, county and state, focused on the effects of bioscience in Kansas, and at the University.
ODD NEWS
Woman asks about warrants, runs away
LOCKLAND, Ohio — Police in suburban Cincinnati arrested a woman after she flagged an
officer down and asked if there were any warrants out for her arrest. When an officer informed 44-year-old Selma Elmore she did have an outstanding warrant, the woman ran off.
Other officers responding to a call for backup later apprehended the woman.
Elmore now faces a charge of resisting arrest.
Associated Press
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