A-Z: D

The School of Fine Arts was founded in 1891, combining the Department of Music, established in 1877, and the Department of Art, established in 1885. Courses in drawing, painting, piano, violin, voice and other fine arts had been offered since KU's earliest years, but none of the disciplines had a permanent home. For several decades music teachers were paid by student fees, and the visual arts were taught as second or third subjects by faculty hired for other courses.

William H. Danforth, chair of Ralston Purina Co., provided the largest single donation for the chapel through his foundation; the rest of the funding and most of the furnishings were donated by faculty, students, alumni and Lawrence residents. Edward W. Tanner of Kansas City, KU’s first architectural engineering graduate in 1916 and principal designer for the J.C. Nichols Co. 1919-64, designed the 90-seat Gothic Revival structure. The construction was done in part by German prisoners of war, many of them masons, who were detained in a Lawrence facility.

The center was dedicated Aug. 25, 1990, and named in honor of Kansas Sen. Robert J. Dole, an advocate for people with disabilities. Kiene & Bradley Design Group designed the $12 million classroom and clinic space, which houses undergraduate and graduate departments and research and training centers, including the Department of Applied Behavioral Science and affiliates such as the Child and Family Services Clinic, gerontology, early childhood autism, the Edna A.

This hall houses 48 women in 12 bedroom/study area suites. It opened in 1954 and was largely funded by the gift of Burt Chronister of Kansas City, Kan., in memory of his wife, Ava Douthart Chronister, a 1901 graduate, and her sister Lela Douthart, an 1899 alumna. The architect was Raymond Coolidge.

One of KU’s signature buildings, Dyche Hall was built as the Museum of Natural History in 1901-02 to a design by Kansas City architects Walter C. Root and George W. Siemens; they used the Venetian Romanesque style characteristic of southern European churches of 1050-1200. The limestone building, distinguished by a steep-roofed tower, arched doorway and elaborate stone ornamentations of natural and fantastic animals and plants, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

This west campus building, dedicated in July 2003, is named for retired Kansas Sen. Robert J. Dole. The $11 million, 28,000-square-foot facility, designed by ASIA of Lenexa, houses papers from Dole’s 35-year career and is the world’s largest congressional archive.