Campus Buildings Directory

1515 Engel Road 66045-3899

Named for Olin Templin (1861-1943), a mathematics graduate who from 1883 to 1943 was professor of philosophy, dean of the College, chair of the Alumni Association, and secretary of the KU Endowment Association. He also was instrumental in establishing scholarship and residence halls. The seven-story residence hall, opened in 1959, was extensively remodeled in 1997 into single, two- and four-person suites for 274 men and women. Each floor, or “house,” honors a person or tradition of excellence at KU; it houses several honors programs and requires a minimum GPA of residents.

In 1998 the cafeteria/dining hall was renovated and expanded for use as the Visitor Center and the Office of Admissions and Scholarships.

The “old” Templin Hall, originally Brynwood Manor at 14th and Louisiana, was built just after the Civil War and demolished in 1959. Sprague Apartments for retired faculty now occupies the site.

View Photo Library images of Templin Residence Hall

See also: Visitor Center; Ekdahl Dining Commons

1545 Lilac Lane 66044-3184

Pronounced: TWEN-tee

Originally Watkins Memorial Hospital, it opened in January 1932 and was built with funds donated by Elizabeth Miller Watkins, a doctor’s daughter and widow of Lawrence banker/financier J.B. Watkins, for whom it was named. The unusual splayed-V design of the stone building, by State Architect Joseph E. Radotinsky, accommodates its site on the edge of the hill Watkins owned.

In March 1974 the larger Watkins Memorial Health Center opened; in May 1974 the former hospital became home to the School of Social Welfare and was renamed for Esther E. Twente (1895-1971), a pioneering social worker/author/educator who joined the faculty in 1937. She had overseen the development of first the department, then the School of Social Welfare. In 2005, after the opening of the Hall Center for the Humanities, Social Welfare expanded into the former Watkins Home, built as a residence for the hospital’s nurses in 1937.

The limestone bas-relief of St. George and the Dragon and the animals, birds and reptiles carved around the front door were designed and created by Professor Marjorie Whitney, chair of the design department, who also created murals of sunflowers and Jayhawks and designed many of the original furnishings. A portion of the mural and some furnishings are exhibited at the health center.

View Photo Library images of Twente Hall

See also: Watkins Memorial Health Center; Watkins Home