Brown/Munson Residence Halls

Brown Residence Hall	Munson Residence Hall

Historic Name(s): Brown/Munson Residence Hall

Date constructed: Munson 1941, Brown 1949

Architect: R. S. Gerganoff of Ypsilanti

Style of Architecture: PWA Moderne

Original Use: Men’s dormitories

Dates of renovation: 1973: Munson, and its companion residence hall Brown, were converted into 270 single student apartments.

Current Use: Apartment plan residence hall

President John M. Munson

History: Munson Residence Hall was built during the construction campaign of President John M. Munson. Building was intended to be the men’s residence hall and was named for President Munson. Brown, constructed eight years later, was named for James M. “Bingo” Brown, football and baseball coach 1923-29 and first dean of men 1925-62. Munson contained 200 student rooms when it was built and Brown contained 250. Brown also had a kitchen and dining room attached.

In 1943, Munson began to house soldiers in the Army Specialized Training Program. These 300 soldiers, selected from camps around the nation, collected at Michigan State Normal College to form Company H of the 3651st Unit of the A.S.T.P. At Normal these soldiers were given basic academic training, called Basic I, which would allow them to enter more advanced leadership rolls in the military.

Since the intention of the program was to train soldiers in more technical aspects of the war, their curriculum focused mainly on mathematics, physics, and