University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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Bowman sent bulldozers to the scene for an unannounced ground-breaking in early 1926. A lawsuit over the Darlington bequest caused delays and a shortening of the structure by ten stories. Bowman had planned a 52-story building, which was now cut to 42. To prevent further shortening, Bowman ordered masons to begin work at the top and proceed downwards. Federal monies enabled workers to finish the exterior stonework by 1934. Insisting on a pay-as-we-go method, Bowman had incurred no further debts. The exterior of the Cathedral defined a gross volume of more than 9,000,000 cubic feet. It was designed to house 91 classrooms, 67 teaching labs, 52 research labs, 13 large lecture rooms, 15 departmental offices and 78 faculty offices. It also contained space for the faculty club, student lounges, the University library (three floors) and a cafeteria and a theater. The forty-second floor is the glass-walled Babcock Room, where administrative bodies sit in council. Dr. Bowman had invited Pittsburgh's nationality groups to decorate and furnish the seventeen classrooms which circle the great Commons Room. Designed by architects abroad, the rooms are unique. Each room captures an important period in the history of that nation. The first rooms were dedicated in 1938. The final one. The Irish Room, was dedicated in 1957. Today, the African Heritage Room is being planned alongside the Early American Room on the third floor. When complete, twenty cultures will be represented. The committees continue to this day to sponsor lectures, exhibits, exchange students and scholarships for students and faculty. They also decorate the rooms on holidays according to Old World style. 20

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Alwoyt • IfOII paw . tK» Umv tily ho% l»U«d hompM««h.p '•omt linn |K« tv n «l ih v » ry in mn « ikw i».lv« ip n On •P(Mf« pof y v w« a Xixk mnl W i m IhntiM Not. « |K« • vipmnni On tfcn poy» • nl» « • »•« I ploy»d m Intel R W, in 191 . bd«m KilandfmSHM ftel unnitMmniky »• « ynnn undergoing rapid growth as a civic center. Soldiers and Sailors Hall, the Syria Mosque, the Masonic Temple, and the Bureau of Mines now had head quarters in Oakland. The University was also growing. In 1911, enrollment was two thousand three hundred. By 1921, it had bounded to fourteen thousand. Pitt was now home for more than half of all students in higher education from Western Pennsylvania. In 1921 when John Gabbert Bowman became chancellor, the University was crowded into one-fourth the space it needed for laboratories, offices and classrooms. The school was deeply in debt. The first summer sessions had been introduced in 1912. The first evening school, the School of Business Administration, the School of Education and the Extension Division had become integral parts of the university mission. Expansion was needed on a larger scale for the Academy had outgrown even the fondest dreams of its creators. Studies showed that eight or ten larger buildings would be necessary to serve the ever expanding needs of the school. Estimates of the gigantic expense of construction and maintenance of such a building program and the difficulty of finding a suitable site, prompted Bowman toward an alternate solution. The Acropolis plan was scratched and plans made to build the University up instead of out were drawn up. Despite constant opposition, even from the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Bowman held out for his dream. He accepted a donation of a fourteen acre tract known as Frick Acres . He envisioned a high tower which in addition to housing classrooms and administrative offices, would serve as a visible symbol of an emerging metropolitan University. Bowman insisted that the structure is to be . . . forceful, unafraid, sublime, with a sense of upwardness. Its lift, buttress after buttress, rising, but never arriving at a spire, will suggest force enough to go still beyond ... to go ahead in a physical world and in a world of spirit. Philadelphia architect Charles Z. Klander finally produced a three inch sketch of the Chancellor's dream at a meeting which lasted until 4 A.M. Women's groups opposed the tower citing as arguments fears that students would tumble from the high windows as the structure swayed in the breeze. Others opposed the University undertaking such a massive project when in such debt. Undaunted and still committed. Bowman raised more than nine million in contributions for the structure. Corporate contributions, then a new idea, led the way. Ninety-seven thousand school children made ten cent contributions and received certificates. The effort began to attract nation wide attention, including a full-page spread in the New York Times. 19

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Dedication ceremonies for the Cathedral, never officially named, were held in June of 1937. Dr. Bowman's dream was at hand, and his words, embedded on the Common's Room cornerstone, convey his feelings. “They shall find wisdom here, and faith. In steel and stone, in character and thought, they shall find beauty, adventure, and moments of high victory. The 535 foot high Cathedral of Learning was on its way. Today, the upper floors remain incomplete, and money is still going into the structure. Dr. Rufus Fitzgerald succeeded Bowman as Chancellor and worked hard to bring Pitt to academic greatness. He introduced Phi Beta Kappa to the campus, and established ties with many other organizations and societies. Pitt had attracted the majority of its students from western Pennsylvania, many from Pittsburgh, and was dubbed, because of this, the Trolley College . Today, over 67% of the student body are commuters. The efforts of Fitzgerald were continued by the successor, Edward H. Litchfield. Taking the helm in 1955, he wanted to propel Pitt into a position of national prominence among the great academic institutions of the world. Upgrading student standards, seeking and winning distinguished faculty, doubling salaries and doubling the size of the faculty were means toward the goal of greatness. Litchfield is responsible for the large international student body which exists today. His encouragement of twenty years ago finds Pitt with representatives from 185 countries. (The U.N. has but 145.) The concentrated drive toward greatness put the University in financial straights. In 1965, two chancellors, Stanton Chapman Crawford and David Harold Kurtzman eased Pitt into public ownership, going state-related. The 15th Chancellor took over in June of 1967. Dr. Wesley Wentz Posvar works to this day to fulfill his inaugural pledge. “The University, because it is more stable and more independent than governments and corporations, will become the creative eye for new society—for its communications systems, its social patterns, and its political and economic structure. This I submit ... is the keynote of the next major stage of advancement of the University of Pittsburgh. Posvar has retired the massive debts. He is leading the University on to greatness. Today Pitt is a metropolitan University with 15 schools and 10 major centers. Boasting an international student body of over 35,000 on the Oakland and four regional campuses, the school is the second largest employer within the city limits; 2000 administrative personnel, 2000 full time faculty, 500 part-time faculty and 500 part-time technical and professional support persons. The faculty teaches more than 770,000 student credit hours each year. Over $25 million dollars worth of research is conducted each year, resulting in major scientific breakthroughs, including the Salk polio vaccine in 1953, the synthesis of ACTH by Klaus Hofmann in 1961, the synthesis of insulin by P. Katsoyannis in 1964, and the gonorrhea vaccine by C. Brinton in 1976, among tens of others. The University also supports and staffs one of the most advanced medical centers in the country. Magee-Women's, Montefiore, Presbyterian-University, Childrens, Eye and Ear and Western Psychiatric provide care for thousands. Posvar is also responsible for a massive building project, begun in the early seventies and to be completed early next year. The 120 acre main campus is now serviced by 50 buildings. Current construction is valued at $55 million. The log cabin college has come a long way. 21