Pittman Residence Hall · Eastern Michigan University Archives

Building Name

Pittman Residence Hall

Description

Hill, Hoyt and Pittman halls were constructed in 1969 to house ever-growing numbers of students at the university. The University funded the $6.25 million project through the sale of self-liquidating bonds. These 11-story structures stand taller than anything on or near campus except the city water tower. Designers built the residence halls to house a total of 1,404 across the three dormitories. Hill and Hoyt were originally dedicated to women while men lived in Pittman. Like many of the other dormitories on campus, the buildings surround a courtyard. The fourth side of the court is closed by the Conference Center which contains Dining Commons #3.

Namesake Biography

Born April 12, 1882, Eupora, Mississippi, to John Wesley and Ellen (Bradford) Pittman, Marvin Summers Pittman was an instructor in rural education. Pittman received an A.B. degree (1905) from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He received the M.A. degree (1917) from the University of Oregon and the Ph.D. degree (1921) from Columbia University. Pittman was a teacher of science and mathematics in a Monroe, Louisiana, high school (1905-07), superintendent of the Madison Parish (Louisiana) schools (1907-09), and professor of history at the State Normal College (later, Northwestern State University of Louisiana) in Natchitoches, Louisiana, from 1909 to 1912. He was director of rural education at the State Normal School (later, Oregon College of Education) in Monmouth, Oregon, from 1912 to 1918. From 1921 to 1934 Pittman was on the staff at Michigan State Normal College (later, Eastern Michigan University) at Ypsilanti, first as director of rural education and then as director of teacher training. He observed rural schooling in several European countries (1928), Mexico (1929), and Cuba (1932). Pittman became president of Georgia State Teachers College in Statesboro. He served in that capacity from 1934 to 1941 and from 1943 to 1947. He was director of instruction at the Louisiana State Normal College (1942-43). After his retirement from the Georgia State Teachers College, Pittman served as a member of a special commission on rural education that was sent to West Germany by the War Department (1947). He worked in South Korea under assignment of the United States Army to help organize South Korean teachers' colleges and departments of education (1948). He served as an educational consultant to the Institute of International Education (1951) and headed a special mission for technical assistance to Costa Rica (1951-53). Pittman was recognized as a rural education expert and was an adviser on the administrative aspects of teacher education. Pittman wrote Value of School Supervision (1921), A Guide to the Teaching of Spelling (with Hugh Clark Pryor, 1921), Successful Teaching in Rural Schools (1922), Problems of the Rural Teacher (1924), The Value of School Supervision Demonstrated with Zone Planning in Rural Schools (1925), The Practical Plan Book (1931), and Profitable Farming (1931). Pittman was a member of many professional associations, including the Louisiana State Teachers Association (president, 1911-12) and the Georgia Association of Colleges (president, 1938).

Building Namesake

Marvin Summers Pittman

Year Constructed

1968

Date Dedicated

24 October 1969

Building Functions

Residence Hall

Architect

K.F. Leinninger Associates of Birmingham, MI

Builder

Barton-Malow

Original Cost

$7,960,000

Architectural Style

International

Rights

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