The landscape of Marian University in Indianapolis has changed dramatically since I was last there in November 2011.
The lead sentence above seems like a simple declaration, but given all that I had read about the university's development in the past 13 years, and given what I saw when I made a return visit to Marian on June 27, 2024, I assure you that declaration is packed with awe and appreciation.
And all in a profoundly good way.
In this second of two “revisits” to school campuses that I first profiled here photographically in the early 2010s (see the first, the University of Indianapolis, in Saturday’s post), let’s begin with the gorgeously designed four-level E.S. Witchger School of Engineering, illustrated in the photo leading off the post and first photo below.
This Marian University building is named for Eugene S. Witchger, patriarch of Marian Inc., Indianapolis, a private family-owned firm that supplies parts for the medical, electronics and automotive industries. The Witchger family contributed $24 million — more than half the $45 million cost — toward construction of the engineering school, which opened in summer 2023.
The school offers degrees in biomedical, chemical, civil, computer and mechanical engineering, along with engineering physics. In a page at the school’s website, university President Daniel Elsener said Marian has an engineering school graduate program in development as well, which could begin in the very near future.
To view a full gallery of images from my 2024 shoot at Marian, follow the link in this sentence. To view a recent Photo Potpourri post reviewing photos taken during the original visit in 2011, follow the link in this sentence. The post at this latter link also contains extensive history of the university.
Above: Another view of the E.S. Witchger School of Engineering.
Above: A bronze sculpture of St. Patrick, which stands outside the engineering school building. St. Patrick is considered the patron saint of engineers because he oversaw construction of churches and, it is said, taught the Irish to build arches of lime mortar instead of dry masonry.
Above and below: Two views of the St. Joseph Chapel attached to Caito-Wagner Residence Hall. This view faces the campus green, the heart of campus. The Chapel is one of four on campus. The others are the Bishop Chartrand Memorial Chapel, the largest, in Marian Hall; St. Francis Chapel in Oldenburg Hall; and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel in Evans Center for Health Sciences.
Above: The Allen Whitehill Clowes Amphitheater is adjacent to the campus green. This view looks north, with the E.S. Witchger School of Engineering in the background.
Above and first two photos below: A few views of the Franciscan Heritage Fountain in the center of the green mall on campus. Above and below: Mother Theresa Hackelmeier Memorial Library, named for the woman who helped establish the Oldenburg Sisters (and Sisters of St. Francis) in Oldenburg, Ind., the original home of Marian University.
Above and first four photos below: Marian's College of Osteopathic Medicine was founded in 2010 but classes did not begin until three years later. The school shares a 140,000-square-foot building, the Michael A. Evans Center for Health Sciences, with the Alan and Sue Leighton School of Nursing. Evans, CEO of Indianapolis-based AIT Laboratories, contributed $48 million toward the facility's construction cost.
Above and first three photos below: This garden near the Allison Mansion (Riverdale) on the north end of campus was designed by prominent Danish-American landscape architect Jens Jensen and has been partially restored.
Above and first four photos below: In 1936, the Sisters of St. Francis purchased Riverdale, the home of businessman and auto racing pioneer James A. Allison, on the north end of what would become the new location of Marian College the following year. Today it serves as a conference center and houses the the Office of school president Daniel Elsener. The former Allison estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.Above: The Paul J. Norman Center is home to the Byrum School of Business as well as campus safety and police services.
Above and first two photos below: Marian Hall is home to administration offices and the school's College of Arts and Sciences. The south wing serves as home to Marian University Theatre (see third photo below).
Above: Clare Hall serves as a residence hall on the upper floors. On the main floor are the Dining Commons and a variety of other university service operations.
Above: Drew Hall, another residence hall, is between Caito-Wagner Hall/St. Joseph Chapel and University Residence Hall.
Above: The Overlook at Riverdale Apartments, on-campus housing for graduate students on the northwest end of campus. 
Above and below: The Wheeler-Stokely Mansion, which today houses Marian University’s Office of Admissions. The home was built in 1911 for automotive businessman and Indianapolis Motor Speedway co-founder Frank Wheeler, who named his estate Hawkeye. Wheeler ran a carburetor business, starting in 1914, out of a building known today as Wheeler Arts Center in the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis south of downtown. This mansion was purchased by William Stokely, president of Stokely-Van Camp Packing Co., in 1937, and the university acquired it in 1963.
Above: Steffen Music Center.
Above and first two photos below: Three views of Alumni Hall, a gathering place for students on the east end of the campus green and near the university’s main entrance. Alumni Hall contains a bookstore, a food court featuring Oath Pizza, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A. It also contains a banquet hall and a full catering kitchen.
No comments:
Post a Comment