COOVER HALL

An Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Building was on a list of building needs in 1938. In 1945 an appropriation of $440,000 was allocated for the Electrical Engineering Building, but another two years passed before activity began. In May 1947 the architect was retained, and by October the funding was increased to $900,000.

Construction contracts were awarded in September 1948. Separate contracts were subsequently executed for the completion of the third floor (in 1950) and for completion of the auditorium and installation of the freight elevator (in 1952). All of those contracts were completed by the spring of 1953.

A location to house the new Cyclotron computer became a problem when that equipment was nearing completion in 1957. It was then decided to construct an addition on the west end of the south wing of the Electrical Engineering Building for that purpose.¹ Contracts were awarded for that project in June 1958 and work was accepted in March 1959.

The Electrical Engineering Building was renamed “Coover Hall”, in honor of Mervin Sylvester Coover, at the November 13-14, 1969, meeting of the Board of Regents.