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History in Celebration

Rockchalk Jayhawk! The words of the chant flash through my mind every time I open the door and walk into Joseph R. Pearson Hall, where the School of Education resides. I am a Jayhawk in the year 2006 and, since my major is education, JRP is my home. Yet, for many alumni of the School of Education, those evocative words are associated with another building, Bailey Hall. Starting in 1956, Bailey Hall was home to future educators until 2001.

Bailey Hall, one of the ten historic buildings to grace Jayhawk Boulevard, has served the University since 1900. Named for E.H.S. Bailey, the Hall was built to house Professor Bailey’s department, Chemistry. During the Chemistry era, there were several notable contributions not only to the University, but also to society in general. For example, helium was discovered by in 1905, right in the basement of Bailey Hall. And the Rockchalk chant that is so significant to KU’s students and alumni was created inside its limestone walls in 1886. Professor Teddy Roosevelt called it the “greatest college chant he’d ever heard.”

The School of Education got its first start inside the basement of Old Fraser Hall, in 1876 (it was known as the Normal Department), but as the School expanded, it need larger headquarters. The Department of Chemistry was moved to Malott Hall and Bailey became home for the School of Education. The year was 1956, and the School’s future looked bright. Bailey Hall seemed the perfect new home for the School, as “the large laboratory wings are considered ideal for the laboratory-library facilities needed for the service units and programs on which we have decided to concentrate.” The 1951 Dedication Program expressed an emotion that is still true today, a hope that Bailey Hall would be considered the School of Education “headquarters and home where you will always be welcome when you visit the campus.”

Post World War II enrollment flourished and Bailey Hall received and passed its first test of endurance. And while the School of Education started with only three programs, the spaciousness of Bailey Hall allowed the school to expand and the School slowly began offering more programs. By 1966, there were at least eight programs and by 1971 there were 12.

The School of Education continued to expand throughout the years and, as it did, outgrew the beautiful confines of Bailey Hall. In 2001, a momentous change occurred as the School of Education moved to Joseph R. Pearson Hall after a $8 million remodeling and expansion of the former dormitory. Yet Bailey Hall will live on in the heart and history of the School of Education for years to come. And, no matter if the building is Joseph R. Pearson or Bailey, the same sentiment can be heard echoing through the halls, "RockChalk Jayhawk, Go KU!"

--Becca Goldberg, senior, English Education

Please Note: Information for this article was taken from A Short History in Celebration of Forty Years in Bailey Hall by Stephen F. Evans, Becky J.A. Eason, editor. Bailey Hall currently houses the Department of Communications Studies along with other cultural area programs.