1-4-05
Embedding History
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When Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, announced a few years ago that its new 265-bed residence would be named Ohio Hall, students, alumni, and friends of the college were not pleased. Given Penn State's athletic rivalry with Ohio State, that name was unthinkable! College officials found themselves telling and re-telling the following history to get the misunderstanding resolved:
The Battle of Lake Erie was the turning point of the War of 1812 and for years has been Erie, Pennsylvania's strongest connection with America's history. Students at Penn State Behrend learn a lot about northwestern Pennsylvania's lively local history by living in buildings named for the ships and men who took part in that fierce naval battle.
The idea to use names from the Battle of Lake Erie came from the late Dr. Irvin Kochel, degreed in history and head of Penn State Behrend from 1954 to 1980. When the college built its first residence hall in 1968, Kochel named Perry Hall in honor of Commander Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the Battle of Lake Erie, and he didn't stop there.
Behrend's Niagara Hall (l.) and the Brig Niagara (r.)
Looking to the future, Kochel planned that all the residence halls and dining halls would have names related to the Battle of Lake Erie. Penn State Behrend soon had Niagara Hall, Lawrence Hall, and Daniel Dobbins Dining Hall. In the next decade they were joined by Ariel, Caledonia, Champlin, Packet, Scorpion, Turner, Elliot, Somers, and Yarnall-all student apartments named for ships-and by Porcupine, Tigress, and Tiffany, which were student suites also named for ships. In 1997 Almy Hall, an honors living and learning center, was named for Sailing Master Thomas C. Almy, sailing master of the schooner Somers, and in 1999 the college built the infamous Ohio Hall, named for another ship of the American fleet.
In 2004 Penn State Behrend opened Senat Hall, named for George Senat, another sailing master in the battle. Senat Hall is a freshman residence designed to build community among first-year students.
What's next? According to Dr. Jack Burke, CEO and dean of Penn State Behrend, a new residence hall is planned in the next five years, and it will be named Trippe Hall, after a fifty-ton sloop that participated in the battle. "Irv Kochel knew his history well and made a great choice," said Burke. "We're in good shape for names for many years to come."