EMU's Rackham Hall: Balancing History and Innovation

Eleanor Roosevelt didn't just stop by any old campus building for any old reason. When she came to Eastern Michigan University's Rackham Hall in the 1940s, it was because of it's status as the first facility in the US built to train teachers in special education. 

 

Groundbreaking for its time, Roosevelt came to observe the EMU program, which included a laboratory in which teachers learned techniques for educating special needs students. Though she was there for the program, the first lady undoubtedly noticed the 1939 building's art deco beauty, complete with marble detailing and colorful Franklin Tiles decorated with wildlife. 

 

Today, Rackham Hall is about to again be on cutting edge of higher education, while still retaining its historic integrity. The 28,000 sq. ft facility will soon undergo a $3.6 million renovation that will prepare it to become the home of EMU's forthcoming Physician Assistant (PA) Program.

 

"Rackham Hall is the perfect setting for this program," says Jay Peterson, program director for the new PA program. "It's a historic building with high visibility in the center of campus. We have space to provide students with a great learning environment."

 

Just as it did with special education more than 70 years ago, EMU has developed the PA program to meet the needs of a changing field, as well as the local need for more PAs.

 

"It's wonderful the university is recognizing the changes that are happening in our area," says Peterson. "Hopefully this will provide graduates who can work in primary care medicine where we have a shortage of providers. It's about assisting our community." 

 

In fact, the new PA program will serve the community in more ways than that one. The renovations will create for collaborative learning environments such as small group meeting rooms and mock patient exam rooms. The school will also partner with St. Joseph Mercy Hospital to create a joint simulation center, a human anatomy cadaver laboratory and clinical rotations for students.

 

With innovative new teaching techniques and technologies such as small group problem-based learning, hands-on procedural training, advanced simulation models, large LCD monitor screens and audience response devices, Rackham Hall will reclaim its identity as a place where state-of-the-art higher education happens. But just because the renovations will make way for new technology and uses, building planners are taking care to update the building in a way that allows it to retain its prominence as the best example of art deco architecture at EMU.

 

"We have some buildings on campus that are lesser versions of that style," says EMU Manager of Planning and Design Bob Densic, "but Rackham really shines through."

 

According to Densic, it's not just the building's art deco appearance on the outside, but the details of its interior that makes the building such a unique piece or architecture. The glazed glass tiles, marble windowsills and ceramic and terrazzo details make it a truly historic and well-preserved building. 

 

None of that will change as Rackham undergoes renovations. In fact, some changes will take the building closer to its original appearance.

 

"We want people to feel like they've walked into 1939," says Densic. "Anything that is new, we'll blend into what is already there. You'll see changes in finishes; we'll be fixing plaster walls, but we'll be working to enhance what is there."

 

Including, for example, "new" copper light fixtures from 1939, which had been removed from the building and are now being restored and replaced in working order. 

 

It takes a lot of work, however, to take a structure built under the 30s building codes and modernize it without drastically changing its appearance. Some work, like changing the direction of door swings, might not impact much, but changing the ductwork in a building with concrete cast ducts will be no minor task. 

 

Work on Rackham Hall is scheduled to begin in the fall and be completed by early next year in time for the new PR Program to begin in May 2014. The program will welcome 20 students in its first year with plans to grow to 30 in 2013 and level out at 40 the following year.

 

While preserving the historic integrity of the building throughout its renovations will be both costly and time consuming, Densic and Peterson have no doubt that the effort will be worthwhile.

 

"The building is so cool," Peterson says. "I remember walking into a conference room, and the first picture I saw was of Eleanor Roosevelt's visit. Horace Rackham [who donated the funds to construct the building] was the one who drew up the paperwork that incorporated Ford Motor Company. This was a really significant building."  

 

Thanks to the new PA program and careful renovation project, Rackham Hall will continue to be a significant building for years to come. 

Natalie Burg is a freelance writer, the development news editor for Concentrate and Capital Gains, and a regular contributor to Metromode.

All photos by Doug Coombe

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