Arkansas Tech University has received a $373,000 grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council (ANCRC) to support an external renovation of Browning Hall.
The funding will allow ATU to address waterproofing and building envelope issues for a structure that has served the Arkansas Tech community since 1913.
“The partnership between Arkansas Tech University and the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council remains vital to safeguarding the architectural heritage of our campus,” said Suzanne McCall, ATU vice president for administration and finance. “Every historic building at our institution has benefited immensely from this collaboration, ensuring that these buildings continue to stand as pillars of our campus community. The current roof renovation and weatherproofing initiatives are critical to this mission, addressing essential structural needs that will protect and preserve this building for many generations of students to come.”
The renovation project will include roof replacement with historically accurate asphalt shingles, window restoration and sealing, foundation waterproofing, gutter and downspout work, fascia maintenance and soffit maintenance. In collaboration with WER Architects, ATU’s construction management team received ANCRC approval for a scope modification that allows the funding to address multiple building envelope issues.
The ATU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs worked with McCall and Drew Dickey, ATU director of facilities management, to support the grant application and award process for the Browning Hall project.
Browning Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its original purpose was to serve as the domestic science building for female students. Arkansas Tech President J.W. Hull secured $7,500 from the Public Works Administration in 1935 to fund a renovation to the facility, and it continued to provide for the educational needs of home economics students until 1972.
Arkansas Tech converted the building to home for its Department of Art in 1974, and the structure came to be known as the Art Building. It maintained that purpose until 2006, when Norman Hall opened and became the new home for the Department of Art.
The facility remained vacant until 2012, at which time a $550,000 ANCRC grant helped Arkansas Tech renovate the facility and convert it into administrative office space. It was dedicated as Browning Hall on April 17, 2014, in memory of Elmo Browning, who graduated from Arkansas Tech in 1937 and went on to become a benefactor for his alma mater.
