Founders Hall and the Julia Stacey Edwards Bell Tower

Founders Hall and the Julia Stacey Edwards Bell Tower

During the construction of Curtiss Hall, the university was developing two other structures that were to define the campus identity.

Often affectionately referred to as the “chapel” because of its church-like appearance, Founders Hall was the culmination of a university fundraising drive to provide a setting for perhaps 100 to 120 people for public lectures, recitals, poetry readings, convocations, Honors Society functions, ceremonies, memorials and similar events. The university obtained the $1.5 million from private donors for the project. Albert Beutler, executive director of the SVSU Foundation, coordinated the fundraising, which began in 1993.

Initial projections came back with a cost for the structure that was nearly double the planned budget, and the Board of Control insisted on the original budget and approved a design that met that goal. Construction moved rapidly after the April 25, 1995, groundbreaking, and the university dedicated Founders Hall Dec. 14 of that same year. The finished building’s design and setting near a pond in the woods north of Campus Drive made it a favored spot on campus.25

This was the view outside the north windows of Wickes Hall in April 1995, just before groundbreaking ceremonies were held in the area beyond the pond and in the top center of this photo, where Founders Hall was built.

Albert Beutler

William J. Edwards chaired SVSU’s first fundraising campaign in the early 1960s and provided the funds for construction of an on-campus bell tower, which was named for his wife, Julia Stacey Edwards, in 1998.