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The last building project completed in the Kerstetter administration was the $8.5 million Performing Arts Center which opened in 1976. The elegant multi-story complex was designed by Holabird and Root architects in a modernistic style with lavish use of glass and plain red-brick facing on both exterior and interior walls. The three-story academic building housed the offices and classrooms of the department of communication arts and sciences as well as the teaching studios of the School of Music, 53 music practice rooms, and a music library. The academic wing was named Burkhart Hall in honor of Ardath Y. and John Burkhart.

Elevated passageways connect it with the performing component, which contains the 1500-seat Kresge Auditorium named for donors Dorothy M. and Stanley Kresge, the 400-seat Moore Theatre named for Frank M. Moore, and the 200-seat Thompson Recital Hall named for Van Denman Thompson, longtime director of the School of Music. The center also includes a landscaped amphitheatre and courtyard provided by Kappa Alpha Theta, along with a graceful tower holding a 37-bell carillon donated by Alpha Chi Omega. Both national sororities were founded at DePauw seven decades earlier. The largest single gift making the building possible was $2 million from the Krannert Charitable Trust, the creation of Herman C. and Ellvora Decker Krannert of Indianapolis.

 


The spirit of educational experimentation and reform was strongly evident at DePauw during the first half of the Kerstetter administration. In 1964, after extensive study and discussion, the faculty approved a major overhaul of the class schedule. No longer was credit to be awarded in "hours," based on the number of hours spent in class each week; instead a new system was adopted in which credit for one "course" was given for a class which met for a maximum of four hours per week during a single semester.



This was intended to provide students with greater opportunity for independent study and instructors with more flexibility in organizing their class work. A few half- and quarter-courses were included, chiefly in the School of Music and the art and physical education departments. The normal student load was set at four courses and the faculty teaching load at three courses a semester, with adjustments for laboratory periods in the natural sciences.



 

 


Another major change in the organization of the academic program took place in 1970. After some discussion of an alternative three-term system, the faculty voted to adopt a 4-1-4 academic calendar, made up of two slightly shortened semesters and a four-week Winter Term in January. The first semester was scheduled to begin in late August and end just before Christmas eliminating the two-week hiatus formerly interrupting the first semester. In addition to the 31 courses needed for graduation, students were required to take four Winter Term offerings, which consisted of specially designed faculty-directed projects either on or off campus.


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Composer-conductor Aaron Copland rehearses the DePauw Symphony during a three-day guest appearance at DePauw's first Winter Term in 1971.
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The first Winter Term in January 1971, featured such special events as lectures by architect R. Buckminster Fuller and the conducting of composer Aaron Copland at a Contemporary Music Festival sponsored by the School of Music. Winter Term eventually proved to be a convenient opportunity for professional internships, volunteer work projects, and study abroad. The program was later amended to include two-week as well as four-week projects, and the graduation requirement was reduced to seven two-week projects or three and one-half Winter Terms.

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