The Buildings of Central Michigan University
Kendall P. Brooks Hall
Opened 1965
Cost: $2.75 million
At the time of its opening, Brooks Hall was the largest building on campus.
The cornerstone was laid on September 24, 1964. The building was dedicated on
May 22, 1965, but was not actually finished until 1966. It was designed by Roger
Allen of Grand Rapids.
Brooks was the first classroom building constructed at Central since Rowe in 1958. It housed Biology, Chemistry and Physics, Mathematics, and the Physical Sciences, all of which moved from Grawn Hall when the business department moved in. The building was remodeled in 1970 through a $2.5 million grant from the Herbert and Grace Dow Foundation.
Brooks
was named for a former faculty member and head of the Department of Chemistry
and Physics. Kendall Brooks was the son of a Baptist preacher who was also the
president of Kalamazoo College. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Alma College,
then did graduate work at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago.
He taught science at Marquette, became superintendant of schools, then resigned
in 1908. He spent two years in Germany studying Physics, but failed his Doctoral
oral examinations in 1910. He returned to Central soon after to head the Department
of Chemistry and Physics. He also worked as a registrar for the University.
He was the director of the Exchange Savings Bank in Mt. Pleasant, which he helped
survive the Great Depression.