Crawford Hall’s solid sandstone and limestone structure suits its purpose perfectly. This is Grove City College’s administration building, where generations of leaders have faced challenges and opportunities with strength and wisdom.
Built in 1939 and named for trustee and western Pennsylvania oilman Harry Crawford, it marked the completion of the Olmsted Brothers plan for the campus’ main quadrangle. The collegiate gothic-style building features a central rotunda where the motto “Without knowledge there is no wisdom” is etched in stained glass.
Crawford Hall contains the College’s largest auditorium, a vintage showplace that’s hosted every manner of entertainment and speaker under the sun for more than 80 years. The original design included classrooms, including an art room in the building’s tower that later became the office of The Collegian student newspaper, and a ground floor social hall. MORE>>
It is home to the offices of the provost, financial services, human resources, campus safety, admissions, and the president, who, with the Board of Trustees, sets and executes the College’s priorities and policies. Just 10 men have held the office of president in Grove City College’s 150-year history. Weir Ketler, who served for 43 years, was the first to occupy the office in Crawford Hall where the big decisions – and College history – are made.
Perhaps the most-impactful of those decisions was President Charles MacKenzie’s rejection of a federal ultimatum over student aid in 1977. It sparked a legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and led, ultimately, to the College declaring its complete independence and operating without any federal funding, including student loans and grants.
Grove City College’s fight for academic freedom and institutional autonomy came at a cost to the institution, but it also demonstrated an unshakable commitment to independence and faith that serves as an example to others and attracts some the nation’s best students and top Christian scholars.