Jolliffe Hall, built in 1940 as a dorm, is now known as Howard Hall and houses the Public Health and Exercise Science majors. On October 20, 2023, The official grand opening and ribbon cutting was held for the building.
A $2 million donation from Cleve Howard made the renovation to the building possible. Cleve was the husband of Joanne M. Howard, a class of 1962 graduate, who sadly passed away in 2018. Joanne was a passionate student at Baker University and President Dr. Lynne Murray said Joanne thought of Baker as the first and one of the most important stepping stones on her educational career.
Dr. Murray also said that “this state-of-the-art building will create a lasting impression for many generations to come”.
Dr. Erin Holt, department chair of Applied Health Science, said that she, students and faculty all have a huge sense of excitement for their new space in Howard Hall. The Public Health and Exercise Science majors were previously housed on the top floor of Mabee Hall. In Mabee Hall, the students and faculty did not have a lot of space. There was one large room for all their equipment for labs, simulations, research, etc. Howard Hall gives space and separate rooms for all these different activities to be done.
The students were the main focus when renovating the building, and students within the majors feedback was taken into mind. Holt said “We kept the students in mind through the whole process. The student experience was a top priority”.
Classrooms were created with a collaborative learning layout. Tables and all furniture are able to be easily moved and collapsed and tables all have whiteboard table tops for more writing space for students. Holt’s favorite place in the building is the group exercise room, because it will give students expanded opportunities that they could not get in Mabee. Dr. Holt explained the student experience in Howard Hall could compare to students with the same major at bigger schools.
“The bigger schools are fully lecture-based, we do not do that here,” Holt said. “Having the equipment and resources available for students to learn hands-on with more space is a great reason why this building was needed.”
Dr. Holt said seeing the family’s reaction to the completed building was something so fun to see. Seeing from where the building had started to now knowing students could thrive and be successful in the bundling was something great to see. Holt hopes in the future to start a community health program, a program where students can work and practice with members of the Baldwin community on their skills before heading out into the workforce.
