There was a secret to entering Lincoln Music Hall from the north when I was a student: only one of the three
exterior doors opened. I never knew why and never asked why. With The Pride of the Dakotas Marching Band being my only musical activity and only taking one other music class while in college, once I figured that out I didn’t really think about it.
When I started this job, I learned a lot more about Lincoln Library. The stacks, the reading room, the number of people who met their spouse in a space where you weren’t supposed to be talking …
For the past few years, I have watched from just across Medary Avenue as a transformation took place. It started with the windows, a painstaking process of replacing the historic windows throughout the building. Then work began on the interior of the building, including uncovering the beautiful skylights that bring natural light cascading into the once dark spaces.
The past 20 years or so have brought some extraordinary improvements to spaces across the College on the Hill, but this one makes me incredibly proud. It feels like a celebration of our history. Lincoln feels like an important part of the historic campus green with Coolidge Sylvan Theatre and Coughlin Campanile.
This year’s freshmen will graduate as Lincoln Hall hits the century mark. As they filled the historic green space for freshman convocation, I thought about what the next hundred years will bring for State.
