Even though Indiana University began in 1820, housing did not come along for another 18 years. The evolution of on-campus housing and dining has followed social change.
The history of on-campus housing
In 1904, Vice President and Dean of the Law School George Reinhard convinced his son-in-law, Colonel Louden, to build a boarding house for female students of IU. Alpha Hall, opened in 1906, included dining facilities for women.
In 1920, Alice McDonald Nelson arrives to revive the failing Alpha Hall. During President Bryan’s administration (1902-1937), with higher enrollments, the Bloomington community could no longer support the increasing number of students and construction began. The university financed most of the construction and Public Works Administration (PWA) grants supported some of the growth.
1942: During WWII, a group of women Navy trainees known as WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) came to IU and lived in co-ed housing with men because of limited space. President Roosevelt signed the GI Bill in 1944, and university enrollment grew. IU welcomed 2,200 veterans to campus in 1946 and scrambled to house the incoming students with Quonset huts, trailers, and prefabricated houses. By 1960, three residence halls and five apartment complexes opened for married students.
By the end of the 1960s, on-and-off campus student housing growth led to concerns of vacancies in the residence halls. The building boom had slowed. In 1972, the College of Arts & Sciences created the first Living-Learning Center that would later be named for Ralph L. Collins in 1982. In 1974, demand for on-campus housing rose to a point where administrators began housing students in lounges for the first time. However, fluctuations in demand over the next few decades made the decision to rationalize building new residence halls difficult.
From 1999–2002, outside consultants were brought in to help with housing renovation plans. Their goal was to explore what the future of housing at IU Bloomington should look like. In 2002, the Board of Trustees approved the motion that first-year students were required to live in the residence halls because of the positive benefits for a richer educational experience. In 2008, the board approved a five-year plan to improve student housing. In 2010, Union Street Center was the first new residential building constructed on campus since 1969.
Alice McDonald Nelson's influence
For almost five decades, Alice McDonald Nelson led housing and residential operations at Indiana University Bloomington throughout a constantly evolving campus landscape. Alice introduced student-forward measures that not only changed IU, but university housing across the country.
Alice, a determined and innovative woman in a male-dominated field, first came to IU’s campus in 1920 on loan from University of Chicago. Her rapid success led to a 45-year career that saw IU Housing through the Great Depression, the enrollment boom after World War II, the breaking down of racial and gender barriers on campus, and decades of building projects. From her introduction of co-ed housing at IU (believed to be the first national co-ed experiment) to the creation of residence hall libraries, Nelson’s legacy continues to benefit residents on campus.
Today, the Nelson Administration Building houses the main administration offices of IU Housing, a reminder of Alice McDonald Nelson’s work and the Indiana University legacy of women in leadership.
Watch Alice McDonald Nelson: An IU Legacy