A much-respected professor emeritus in film and theater at Bowling Green State University will be honored
by having a facility named after him.
At its meeting on Friday afternoon, the BGSU Board of Trustees unanimously approved naming the
video/digital viewing room and resource center in Hanna Hall, the Dr. Ralph H. Wolfe Video Viewing
Center.
The action honors Wolfe who has been affiliated with BGSU for over 50 years, first as an undergraduate
and graduate student, then as a professor from 1956-98. He contributed to, and helped lead, the
fundraising campaign to establish the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Film Theater on campus, honoring the two
Ohio actresses, and brought many film stars to BGSU, including Lillian Gish and Roddy McDowell.
Wolfe was named a Distinguished Teaching Professor of English and the Gish Professor of Film Studies, and
in 2000 received the Distinguished Alumnus Award. He has spent his retirement serving as curator of the
Gish Film Theater and Gallery.
During the Friday morning meeting of the financial affairs/facilities committee, Steven Krakoff,
associate vice president for capital planning and design, updated trustees and guests on the Campus
Master Plan, including new residence halls.
For the first time in the institution’s history, he said, every building on campus was evaluated
"top to bottom, side to side," to see how they performed and which ones needed renovation.
"We can now begin to map out detailed data as we make tough capital investment decisions in future
years," said Krakoff.
New residence halls are a priority in the master plan, with their construction completed by August 2011.
Three to five "major players" from across the nation will be asked to submit their design
proposals since "this has gotten a lot of attention nationally." The new halls will need
significant dining hubs in their designs.
Yet to be decided are how many buildings to construct, how big, their site and location, tentatively the
northwest corner of campus and central campus. The plan is for 20 percent of the rooms to be singles,
with suite bedrooms for sophomores, juniors and seniors, plus "community style" halls for
freshmen and sophomores.
Krakoff said bids for the Stroh Center came in $7 million under estimate and the Wolfe Center, $5 million
under.
The foundation for the Stroh Center begins Oct. 5 and the steel erection in January. The building is on
schedule to be enclosed by September 2010 and completed in July 2011.
Foundation work for the Wolfe Center will begin mid-November, with steel erection in May and enclosure in
December 2010. It is expected to be completed January 2012.