Student Unions and Centers

Gerald Orlando Theodore Erdahl was hired as the first College Union Director in September 1949, which further established the idea of a college union at State College.

In spring 1951, the College Union organization was assembled to plan for the following academic year. This group was comprised of the Board of Directors (later called the Student Centers Board of Directors) and a Board of Chairman (later called the Union Activities Board).

The College Union Building was officially opened. The building later became the Erdahl-Cloyd Wing of the D. H. Hill Jr. Library in the 1970s. It was built by T.A. Loving and Co.

When the College Union opened, the Hobby Shop on the second floor offered workshops and demonstrations on ceramics, woodworking, metalworking, poster-making, and other crafts. The Hobby Shop later became the Craft Shop.

Works of art were loaned for display in the College Union. This exhibit was the beginning of a long history of art in the union and the Gregg Museum of Art & Design.

Ogden Nash lectured in the ballroom of the College Union Building as part of the Fine Arts Festival.

The April Fool's Day edition of the Technician proclaimed that the College Union building was destroyed by fire. The front page included headlines about dropping the ROTC program and introducing home economics courses into the curriculum.

The Hobby Shop in the College Union became known as the Craft Shop. Because of space constraints, it offered some programs at other facilities on campus.

Novelist John Dos Passos, author of Manhattan Transfer and the U.S.A. trilogy, gave a lecture at the College Union.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a noted poet associated with the Beat Generation, gave a lecture at the College Union.

Clyda Weeks was the first woman elected president of the College Union and the first woman student body leader.

Women's enrollment reached 308, and the Erdahl-Cloyd Student Center created a special coed lounge for students.

Henry Bowers became the second Union Director.

The Erdahl-Cloyd Student Union was named for Jerry Erdahl and Edward Cloyd, administrators in Student Affairs.

The Craft Shop outgrew its facilities in the College Union and moved its operation to the Frank Thompson Gym, which became Frank Thompson Theatre.

The London Symphony performed on campus as a part of the Friends of the College concert series. The orchestra received a standing ovation after their performance, playing music from Stravinsky, Vaughn, Mozart, and Brahms.

Martin Niemoller, a German Lutheran pastor who was imprisoned in a concentration camp for his anti-Nazi views, gave a speech at Erdahl-Cloyd Student Union.

Construction of the original Talley Student Center began in 1969.

Students formed NC State's first African American Cultural Center, which was given space in the YMCA building.

Ralph Nader addressed over 800 people about the formation of a North Carolina Research Group (NC-PIRG) in the Union Ballroom.

The Talley Student Center opened in June 1972 (shown here before the installation of the fountain and courtyard). It replaced the Erdahl-Cloyd building, now the west wing of D.H. Hill Jr. Library, as the campus student center.

The University Student Center's Walnut Room Cafeteria opened for the first time on this day at 11:30am.

The two buildings were dedicated during a ceremony at which the NC State University Symphony Orchestra and Choir presented a concert. The 816-seat theater opened during the fall 1972 semester. It was named for James Jackson Stewart Jr., who was dean of Student Affairs from 1954 to 1969.

An International Fair was held in the Student Center and introduced students to cultures and customs from around the world.

In 1974, African American students called for a new cultural center. Student body president Terry Carroll presented a four-point request to Chancellor Caldwell, which included a request for the first floor of the Print Shop to be turned over to the Society of Afro-American Culture for an African American Cultural Center. Banks C. Talley, dean of Student Affairs, complied with this request.

The Craft Shop in the basement of the Frank Thompson Theatre was listed as the Craft Center in university directories.

The African American Cultural Center opened in the new Student Center Annex, later renamed the Witherspoon Student Center. In 1992, following months of student and faculty protests, NC State administrators granted the African American Cultural Center an operating budget.

The Women's Center opened with Jan Rogers as its coordinator. Rogers began the Women's Leadership Education and Action Program (LEAP), which aimed to enhance the experience of women in fields such as math, science, and engineering.

The new Student Center Annex included meeting space, a library, and a multipurpose room. It was later renamed the Witherspoon Student Center.

The Visual Arts Center opened in the Talley Student Center. The arts center later became known as the Gregg Museum of Art & Design.

The GLBT Center opened a new office and officially became a department under the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, after years as a resource within Campus Activities. Justine Hollingshead was the founding director.

The Bookstore, Union Activities Board, GLBT Center (now the LGBTQ Pride Center) and Student Organization Resource Center moved to Harrelson Hall when the Talley Renovation & Addition Project began.

The Center brought together the advising of Student Organizations (formerly SORC), Union Activities Board, and Student Government.

With new construction and remodeling, Phase I of the new Talley Student Union opened with four new dining options and the Talley Market.

The renovated space provided offices for the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, Multicultural Student Affairs, Greek Life, and the University Graduate Student Association.