Leroy E. Cowles Building

LeRoy Cowles drew the hardest possible hand: he was running the university when Pearl Harbor emptied it. Enrollment fell by a third almost overnight as the young men shipped out, then came roaring back after the war as the GIs returned on the new education bill. His name went, in 1980, onto one of the campus's four original buildings—first the library, then mathematics from 1951, communications from 1975, and mathematics again today. A wartime president honored on a building that has spent most of its life doing quiet, exact work.

What the plaque says

LeRoy E. Cowles Building LeRoy E. Cowles, sixth president of the University of Utah, served Utah education his entire professional life, following his education at the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. studies at the University of California. He taught high school in Heber City, Ogden and Price before joining the Education faculty at the University in 1914. His presidency, 1941—1946, spanned the difficult World War II years when the University was greatly affected by the war effort. Classes were added in military science, economics and philosophy of war, and programs began in Army pre-flight, Navy V-1 and ROTC. One of the far-reaching academic achievements of the period was expansion of the medical program into a four-year Medical School. This building is one of the first three constructed on this East bench campus. It was opened in 1900 as the Library Building but was only partially completed. Later the liberal arts departments were located here and it was affectionately known as the "L" building. From 1951 to 1975 the Mathematics Department was housed here. Since 1975 the Communications Department has been principal occupant of this campus landmark. In ceremonies sponsored by the Alumni Association on May 2, 1980, the building was officially named for LeRoy E. Cowles.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Red Butte Garden — 1.2 mi
  A 100-acre botanical garden with panoramic valley views
• Natural History Museum of Utah — 1.4 mi
  A world-class museum built into the foothills above Salt Lake City
• Gilgal Sculpture Garden — 1.9 mi
  A surreal and eccentric sculpture garden hidden in a residential neighborhood
• Liberty Park — 2.0 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• John A. Widtsoe Building — steps away
• John Rockey Park Statue — steps away
• James E. Talmage Building — steps away
• U.S.S. Utah Bell and Plaque — steps away