Celebration kicks off McGraw Hall project

More than 75 people, including university leaders, donors and members of the College of the Arts and Sciences Advisory Council, celebrated the start of the $110 million McGraw Hall renovation project Sept. 19 with a "groundbreaking" ceremony.

"McGraw is the third-oldest building on campus, one of the three buildings in Old Stone Row and one of the first monuments to the ambition of Cornell and its founders," said Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff. "It embodies our dedication to the humanities and to creating an environment that fosters creativity, collaboration and progress. We are delighted today to be able to preserve it and renovate it, while providing state-of-the-art facilities to enhance student learning, support research and inspire future generations of Cornellians."

The transformation of McGraw Hall will begin in January and will include an overhaul of the interior structure and layout, as well as an update to building systems and work to preserve and bolster the exterior façade. Construction is expected to continue through 2027, with reopening planned for 2028.

Named for founding trustee John McGraw, who gave $120,000 for the building, McGraw Hall was designed by architect Archimedes N. Russell and opened in 1872. Built of Ithaca stone, the four-story building was the first on campus to include a tower. Jennie McGraw, daughter of John McGraw, donated the chimes to be placed in the tower, where they stayed until McGraw Tower was built in 1891.

McGraw Hall was the original location of the university library, until the construction of Uris Library (then called the University Library) in 1892. McGraw also once housed the university museum, the Wilder Brain Collection, the Plaster Cast Collection, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Law School, the Department of Geology, the insect collection and nation's first entomology department. The Department of Government was located in McGraw Hall from 1972 to 2003, when it moved to White Hall. McGraw Hall is home to the departments of History and Anthropology and the Archaeology Program in A&S.

Kotlikoff thanked alumni who supported the project with foundational gifts, including Cathy Merrill '91, CEO and president of Washingtonian Media.

"The building was special from the moment it opened," Merrill said. "For decades, graduations were held in front of it, but more importantly, Cornell's first library was a truly groundbreaking type of space. It was the first library at an American university designed to be used not only by faculty, but by students."

Merrill said she had many classes in the building.

"Our STEM fields are better when people have a sound liberal arts education to go along with their hard science, computer or engineering classes," said Merrill, who majored in government and history. "I think history and anthropology are critical for making the world better and McGraw is the center of that."

Mary John Miller '77, whose father James John taught medieval history in McGraw Hall for 50 years, has been another alumni supporter of the project. She's excited that the building will be completed around the time of her 50th class reunion.

"We all came to my father's last lecture in the auditorium of McGraw and I remember it as a beautiful room," said Miller, who majored in government. "History is a very important department to the College of Arts and Sciences and I'm someone who thinks that space matters. Where you work and your environment influences how you feel about your work."

Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences, thanked alumni, staff and faculty who have worked for many years to move the renovation project forward.

"Today I'm deeply cognizant of the long legacy of Cornell University and the College of Arts and Sciences. For more than 150 years, we have been educating young people to be well-informed, well-spoken participants of society, with our doors wide open to any person, any study," he said. "And the College of Arts and Sciences has been central to that mission, here on the Arts Quad, where we truly are the heartbeat of this university."

The renovation of McGraw has been a major fundraising project as part of the university's campaign "To do the Greatest Good." In May, the college reached its fundraising goal of $45 million.

Kathy Hovis is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.

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