The Architect of Necessity, a collaborative work by student and teacher, chronicles Skidmore's old campus

Penfield, Wilmarth, McClellan, and Kimball are familiar names to Skidmore students of today as South Quad residence halls. But little do they know that these same names once graced buildings downtown, as dormitories on the old Skidmore campus. And mention names like Barton House, Fathers' Hall, Griffith Hall, and the Buildings Building, and these students will likely draw a blank.

	Associate Professor of Economics Robert Jones and Heather Moore '08 at work on The Architect of Necessity

That may all change thanks to a new book by Heather Moore '08 and Associate Professor of Economics Robert Jones. The two recently published The Architect of Necessity, an illustrated history of what is now known as the Scribner campus. The book devotes pages to most of the buildings and explains their functions. Skidmore began construction of a new campus on North Broadway in the early 1960s and completed its move there in the late 1970s. The Jonsson campus, as it is now called, has been growing ever since.

"Located in downtown Saratoga Springs, New York, beginning in 1903, the Scribner Campus eventually consisted of more than 80 buildings, many of which were previously churches, sanitariums, and houses of the elite and famous," write the two authors in the introduction. "This medley of architectural types was called home by Skidmore's community for over half a century."

Moore and Jones had previously done a collaborative research project on the history of the college's current campus, formerly the Woodlawn estate. They had given numerous PowerPoint presentations on that research?and indeed hope to turn this information into a book as well?but realized that the Woodlawn property was only part of the Skidmore's story.

"We gave a presentation to some older alumnae, and they were excited to hear the names Penfield and Wilmarth because they thought we were talking about their freshman dorms," Moore says. "I realized that someone needed to preserve the memories of the old campus as a part of Skidmore and Saratoga Springs history."

In presenting the old campus, The Architect of Necessity is organized by city blocks. For example, on Regent Street between Spring Street and Union Avenue, there are photos and information about College Hall, the Little Theater/Music Conservatory, the Gymnasium and Physical Education Annex, and the Home Economics Annex/Wait House.

"The beauty of Skidmore's first home reflects the manner by which the college acquired each building," states the book's introduction. "Every house or structure has a unique story and found its way into the campus because of a new or expanded need. The necessity of bettering the Skidmore educational experience drove the college to buy or build each structure."

Much of the research material came from the Special Collections in Scribner Library. Much of the detail needed to properly identify and describe the buildings came from alumni quarterlies, speeches, and records of building dedications. Other sources crucial to the project were personal correspondences and interviews with alumnae. Professor of American Studies Mary Lynn's Make No Small Plans: A History of Skidmore College (2000), was a valuable resource and, as per the introduction of The Architect of Necessity, a "ripping good read."

Not every building from the old campus has a place in the book, due mainly to a lack of reliable information. Sixty of the campus's 80 buildings are included. The authors note that 75 percent of the old campus buildings are still standing today.

Moore did much of the historical research, and Jones complemented her work by mapping the old buildings using GIS (geographic information systems). "GIS is essentially statistics but with geography," explains Jones, who uses GIS applications to teach quantitative and statistical economics.

Still, you might ask, how does an economics professor pair up with a government major to produce a geographical representation of Skidmore's old campus? "This collaboration is a perfect example of Skidmore's interdisciplinary focus," says Jones, who notes that his GIS latest course drew students from 14 different majors. Jones has done collaborative research in the past with an environmental studies student and an economics student; both projects involved GIS.

Moore's work on The Architect of Necessity has prompted to pursue a new major. "Collaborative research led me to change my major to history, and I now plan to go to graduate school for American history," she explains.

Moore likes to think of the book as a yearbook for alumni. In her personal copy, which she brought along to Alumni Weekend (where her book first went on sale) she has handwritten notes from alumnae of their personal memories of individual buildings. "This was my freshman dorm and friendships begun and here have endured," wrote Shirley Gummell '57 of Newman House at 72 Circular St.

All proceeds from the book sales will go to support student-faculty collaborative research at Skidmore. The Architect of Necessity is available at the Skidmore Shop.