A belated thank you, from Chuck Richards to whomever was responsible for assigning the painting and drawing major to the cool kids’ dorm in the mid-’70s.
Richards wound up putting in two fun-filled years on the second floor at Allen Hall, which he discovered early on was “seen as the dorm for creative people and ‘free thinkers.’”
“With an artist-in-residence program — Unit One — diverse visiting faculty would live for a while to conduct classes on a variety of non-traditional subjects which were held in the dorm. I had some of my most meaningful learning experiences as a result of my choosing to live in Allen and spent a good amount of time developing my photographs in the darkroom there," says Richards (BFA '79), now a professor of art and visual culture at Iowa State.
“I have fond memories of making art during all-nighters in the men’s second floor lounge, and I also shared a studio space in the basement with two other friends who were architecture majors.
“Best of all, the friends I made there felt like my extended family, and our fun times together continued after we all moved off-campus. For me, my college memories are mostly about the people who I lived with, had fun with and worked with during my short four years there as an undergrad.
“Allen Hall will always be that special place for me that brought us all together.”
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