In 1959, the State Legislature appropriate $750,000 for a new agricultural science building. Construction began in 1960 and was completed in 1961. The building was a three-story structure measuring 124 feet by 148 feet. The interior had a court measuring 40 feet by 60 feet. The building housed primarily offices and research laboratories as well as a few classrooms for seminars and advanced students. The offices were designed to give their occupants privacy for study, research analysis and writing. The laboratories were planned for specific areas of research.
Different branches of the School of Agriculture soon called the new building home. The first floor housed the Department of Soils. The Department of Agronomy and the offices of the Dean of the Graduate School occupied the second floor. The Departments of Animal Husbandry, Plant Pathology and Horticulture were located on the third floor. The building opened in 1961 and was dedicated as Walster Hall in 1962 in honor of H. L. Walster, Dean of the School of Agriculture from 1924 to 1953 (Dedication of Walster Hall, July 13, 1962).
Harlow Leslie Walster was born on the family homestead near Spring Green, Wisconsin on April 20, 1883. He attended high school there, and worked on the family farm until he was19. He attended the University of Wisconsin, and graduated in 1908 with a Bachelor of Science Degree, then obtained an M.A. from Harvard in 1913, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1918. He served as Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin until 1919, when he came to the North Dakota Agricultural College as agronomist at the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station.
In 1924 Walster became Dean of the School of Agriculture, a position he held until his retirement in 1953. He was dedicated to his chosen field and contributed many publications to the profession. In 1932 he was made director of the Division of Agricultural Extension, and held the post jointly with his chief Agronomist and Dean positions. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science from 1908, and a member of the American Society of Agronomy, American Society of Soil Science, and the American Soil Survey Association. He was also a life member and vice president of the Agricultural History Society of the United States, a member of the Northern Great Plains Agricultural Council, and chairman and secretary of the agricultural teaching section of the Association of Land Grant Colleges.
Between May and August 1941, Dean Walster was granted a leave of absence for an extensive tour of South America as a guest of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. During the tour he published a series of letters and articles on South America relating to agriculture and other topics. In 1947 he toured Central America as the guest of the United States Fruit Company, during which he visited the Pan-American School of Agriculture in Honduras.
Dr. Walster retired in July 1953, and received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from NDSU. He devoted his remaining years to writing his memoirs, and working on the accomplishments of his predecessors until his death on October 7, 1957. He is buried at Lodi, Wisconsin.
Architectural Information
Clark, Elken & Holman, architects.
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University Archives, 701-231-8914 Published by the University Archives, NDSU Last Updated: 8/27/04 |