SPECIAL
Student Union
Dedication
VOLUME LII
EMERALD
SPECIAL
Section Two
Pages 1-8
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, EUGENE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1!)50
NUMBER 31
SU—Dream Come True
With the formal dedication of
the Erb Memorial Student Union
today, the three-story brick and
marble building, already the focal
point of campus activity, will be
come an official part of the Uni
versity.
The drive for a student union at
Oregon had its beginning in 1923.
Twenty-five years later, in June,
1948, the reality of such a center
appeared with ground-breaking
ceremonies at the site on 13th St.
between University and Onyx.
.Students entering the University
(ffi, 1948, saw the building grow
from a huge muddy hole to seem
ingly disconnected piles of bricks
and beams. But by 1949 the build
ing began taking shape.
Many Watch Progress
Students and professors stopped
to watch its progress. Graduating
seniors told the Class of 1950 how
lucky they were, but this class too,
was to be graduated before the day
of completion arrived.
Finally, Sept. 17, of this year,
the $2,100,000 Student Union was
ready. Delays beyond the control
of the contractor, architect, or Uni
versity had constantly advanced
the completion date, which was or
iginally planned for April, 1950.
THE ERB MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION will become an official part ofIhe'unlverlity’Sy^with
dedication ceremonies beginning at 8:15 p.m. in the Ballroom. Taking nearly two years to build, and
costing .$2,100,000 the Union is claimed to be the most fabulous student center in the United States.
Now the completed result is
claimed to be the most fabulous
student union in the United States.
SU Director Dick Williams sub
stantiates this claim by pointing
Donald Erb Hoped
For SU at Oregon
Donald M. Erb, to whom the Stu
dent Union is a memorial, was
University president from 1938 to
1943, when pneumonia ended his
career of leadership and vision.
Only 43 at the time of his death,
Dr. Erb had worked tirelessly for
the betterment of the University
during his five-year presidency.
One of his major projects was re
storing upper-division science cour
ses to Oregon. He lived to see this
accomplished.
About a month before his death,
he said that one thing he wanted
was to see a student union built
for Oregon. It was at memorial ser
vices for Dr. Erb, that Mrs. Beat
rice Walton Sackett, then vice
president of the State Board of
Higher Education, suggested that
if the University ever built a stu
cIgfJi union, it be named after Don
ald Erb.
He had a reputation as a scholar,
teacher, and effective administra
tor with a winning personality. In
his chosen field of economics, he
wrote numerous articles and made
many addresses.
At the time of his death the
Portland Oregonian paid him this
tribute:
“He was that rare combination;
a highly intellectual and formally
trained man who, however, had
not lost the common touch.”
Even in 1943, Dr. Erb had been
laying plans for the University
after the war. He foresaw a tre
mendous increase in enrollment
and greater attention to the social
utility of learning.
Dr. Frederick M. Hunter, chan
cellor at the time of Erb’s death,
believed that Erb’s work in his
five years as president would con
tribute permanently to the essen
tial foundation of higher education
in Oregon.
“The significance of this brief
period will become increasingly ob
vious through the coming years,”
he said.
The name Erb is still closely con
nected with the University. Erb’s
widow, now secretary in the Eng
lish department, will be introduced
at dedication ceremonies today.
His daughter, Elizabeth, is a Uni
versity sophomore in liberal arts,
and the older daughter, Barbara,
is now Mrs. John Craig of Eugene.
A painting of Dr. Erb, done by
Sidney Bell in 1944, appears on the
second floor landing of the SU.
Beneath it are the following words
of Dr. Erb;
“Do not be tolerant of misrep
resentation, of superficiality, of
the parading of false issues as
though they were real issues. Tol
erance does not extend to intellect
ual dishonesty or ineptitude.”
out the architectural design, func
tional use, and low maintenance
of the building.
Students Back Claim
The students back this claim
when they are using such luxuri
ous facilities as bowling alleys,
billiard and ping-pong tables, a
barber shop, postoffice, cafeteria
and soda bar, ballroom, art gallery,
music listening rooms, lounges, an
elevator, public address system,
movies, free coat checking, and
offices and meeting rooms for all
student groups.
Boasting 17 levels, the building
naturally divides into five areas—
recreational, cultural, foods, ball
room, and student offices. One
hundred eighty-five employees in
the Union keep it running sn*>oth
iy.
The exterior finish is brick and
Indiana limestone. Woods used in
finishes throughout the building1
include gumwood, oak, birch, wal
nut in paneling in the Chambers
Board Room, and maple in the
Ballroom floor.
Two types of marble, travertine
and boisusedon, are used in the
entrance pillars, and in the main
lobby and Memorial Stairway.
The completely automatic eleva
tor, powered by an electric motor’,
has a weight capacity of 3,500
pounds, and a 23-passenger load
limit.
Designed by New Yorker
Dan Cooper, interior designer,
New York City, planned the Tay
lor Lounge, soda bar, Dads’ Room,
second floor lounge, art gallery,
ladies’ powder room, music listen
ing rooms, piano practice room,
the Waller Room, and Chambers
Boai'd Room.
Drapes throughout the building
were also designed by Cooper. Wil
liams planned interior decorations
for the remainder of the Union,
advised by the architects and fac
ulty members in the School of
Architecture and Allied Arts.
General contractor was the Ross
B. Hammond Company, Portland.
Mechanical work was done by the
Rushlight Company, Portland. The
Morgan Electric Company, Seattle,
was electrical contractor.
Already the Union has became
(Please turn la page eight)
History of UO Student Union
Begins Back with Class of 1923
By BOB ZWALD
When a student attends an as
sembly, meeting, or dance, plays
ping-pong, bowls, or just stops to
meet friends at the Erb Memorial
Student Union, he is enacting a
scene visualized by progressive and
far-sighted individuals as far back
as 1922.
The Student Union as it is better
known, did not simply mushroom
out of the ground because some
genii snapped his fingers. It is the
result of 27 years of hard work by
Oregon students, faculty members,
and alumni, and was financed 100
per cent by contributions.
The desire for a student union
on the University of Oregon cam
pus was first expressed by Uni
versity President P. L. Campbell in
1922, but his plajis were halted by
his death and the depression.
McGregor Starts Fund
In 1923, John McGregor, ASUO
president, gave the idea a second
birth and started a building fund
drive. The students were enthusias
tic, committees were formed, and
the money started to flow in.
The senior class voted that each
senior pledge $10 a year for a per
iod of 10 years. The other classes
made pledges and, 27 long years
ago, started the drive with a
noisy parade.
The years went by, and some
times the project seemed almost
lost, but the original pledges, peri
odical donations from local mer
chants and occasional contributions
from students, kept the drive
slowly moving.
The project took definite shape
again in 1938 when the late Don
ald M. Erb, the man to whom the
Union is dedicated, became presi
dent of the University. Erb, who
guided the University until his
death in December, 1943, was the
superior leader and organizer need
ed to bring the project back into
the spotlight.
In December, 1943, the fund-'
stood at $58,000. The attainment
of this figure was helped greatly
(Please turn to page eight)
President's Message...
Dedication of the Erb Memorial Union today will mark the
successful conclusion of an effort which began 27 years ago.
I am confident that everyone who views this fine building will
agree that it was well worthwhile.
It is fitting that this building be a memorial to all Univer
sity men and women who lost their lives in the service of their
country, for such a center has been foremost in student
thoughts for more than a quarter of a century. It is fitting,
too, that it be named for President Erb whose keen interest in
students and their welfare earned him the admiration and
respect of all who knew him.
Even more impressive than the actual building, it seems to
me, is the fact that every segment of the University family
had an important part in making it possible. The Erb Memorial
Student Union is an outstanding example of what cooperative
effort, directed in a constructive vein, can do.
It is with real feeling, therefore, that I take this means of
thanking all those who had a part in this project—the students
who persisted in their efforts to obtain such a center, the
thousands of alumni, mothers and dads who contributed of
their time and money, the faculty who helped with the plans
and gave encouragement in many other ways, and the count
less other friends of the University who carried some part of
this effort. They can, with reason, feel proud of this building
and what it means to the campus.
President H. K. Newburn