Merrifield Hall reopens in harmony with past, future
UND’s beloved landmark in the heart of campus begins its next century with stories and song
The skies were gray and gloomy outside Merrifield Hall on Friday afternoon, but the mood inside the grand entrance was as bright as the building’s polished terrazzo floors and its pair of frosty-white chandeliers hanging high overhead.
As the Hawks in Harmony choir lined the double staircases and raised their voices in a jubilant overture for the Collegiate Gothic gem stepping into its second life — and soon, second century — the ribbon-cutting took on a definite party atmosphere.
More than 100 guests — some still shaking the rain off their umbrellas — squeezed in shoulder to shoulder to celebrate the grand reopening of one of the University’s most beloved and iconic landmarks.
“Merrifield Hall — as home to the departments of English, Philosophy & Ethics, Languages & Global Studies and the Honors Program — touches almost every on-campus student here at UND,” said Brad Rundquist, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. “And it also holds a very important place in the hearts of so many UND alumni. I heard from many who said, ‘I heard you’re going to renovate Merrifield Hall. Let’s be sure we keep this. Let’s be sure we protect that.’”
Smiling from the second-floor overlook at the crush of faculty, students, alumni and friends, Rundquist assured them: “We protected the important elements and, at the same time, we modernized — we needed to let in more light.”
Rundquist admitted the renovation project made him nervous precisely because so many people feel they own a piece of Merrifield. And on Friday, the applause suggested they still do.
A beacon restored to all its glory
President Andy Armacost traced that feeling to Merrifield’s very purpose.
Named for UND’s third president, Webster Merrifield, who served from 1891 to 1909, Armacost called the building dedicated in 1930 “a beacon over our campus.”
“It represents a place where our students and faculty gather to learn what it means to be human — to learn how to interact and to learn how to communicate. This is the essence of the building we wanted to retain.”
He nodded toward the east entrance — now fully ADA accessible — and let the guests enjoy a plainspoken verdict: “And dang, isn’t it beautiful?”
The crowd laughed again as the president joked about his initial tour of the building in 2020.
“The first time I walked through, I went like, ‘Wow, it smells really musty in here.’ And then I talked to some graduates from the 1970s, and they said, ‘Yeah, it smelled the same way in 1970.’
“That’s how we knew it was time, and we’re so thrilled by all the efforts of so many people who made it happen. This cornerstone is an essential part of our campus, and now it will live into eternity.”
Words of gratitude all around
The day’s gratitude list ran long — architects and tradespeople, art curators and IT pros, donors and lawmakers — but Rep. Mark Sanford paused on why public investment mattered.
After a statewide facilities assessment and a pandemic detour, federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) dollars became a “little ray of sunshine” for UND.
“Students have expectations, and they aren’t exaggerated,” Sanford said. “They certainly should have good programs and good professors and leaders. But the important part in this is that those last two have a tougher time operating if they don’t have decent facilities. And that’s what you see today in the results.”
The longtime District 17 legislator, who years ago took Personnel Management classes in Merrifield, also called out the University’s leadership.
“When you look at this campus, you’re looking at master planning. You’re looking at people who have thought ahead of the game, so to speak,” Sanford said. “When there was an opportunity — whoever was providing the resources — they were ready to take advantage of it.
“So, congratulations to UND. Thank you for the prudent use of dollars. When you get good facilities and good results out of these investments, that’s good news for everybody in the state.”
Memories run deep at Merrifield Hall
Two-time UND Professor of the Year Frank White, who taught in the Department of Sociology for 34 years before retiring in 2022, said he was impressed by the number of colleagues and past students who had come back to see the new Merrifield.
“I’ve had a couple of students come up to me and go, ‘Frank, I remember you.’ And they’re students from 30, 20 and 10 years ago,” White said. “To see so many of the colleagues I taught with and the students I taught, it’s really been the most profound feeling today.”
And what was the first thing White noticed about the new-and-improved Merrifield?
That was “how modern, bright and polished it was.”
“I was joking with some of my colleagues that it’s like we were walking down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City. It is absolutely impressive. It wasn’t like this when I taught back in the ’90s.”
White said he also appreciated how the University was intentional in blending the old with the new.
“We still get to look at the nostalgic part of the college. It’s not just about knocking down buildings and putting up new ones — which is important — but we get to see the history. We can look at the old and embrace the new. And with the new students coming in, we know that we’re on the cutting edge and we’re going to be fine for many years to come.”
Retired veteran administrator and UND alum Bob Boyd echoed that sentiment.
“This building is just absolutely beautiful,” said Boyd, who retired in 2011 after serving 33 years at UND, the last 15 of those years as vice president for Student & Outreach Services. “Merrifield is the heart of liberal arts, and liberal arts are liberating for our students. Those courses play such a critical role in the early years of our students because they give our students the background that’s necessary for them to succeed anywhere on campus.”
Boyd shared that early on in his UND career he learned that Merrifield was one of the first buildings where “real money was put into it to make it a special facility.”
“That’s why this remodeling was so important,” he said. “It not only acknowledged that it was well-built in 1929, but that it also merited careful renovation.”
A shout-out to the engineers
Peter Johnson, an alum and now director of Government Relations & Public Affairs for the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, said that when he looked at the results of the renovation he felt a combination of relief and excitement.
“I spent the majority of my academic career here as a student, so there were parts of this building — the curved staircases, the grotesques and some other unique pieces — that I was a little concerned they wouldn’t keep,” Johnson explained. “So, I came in with a little bit of trepidation, but I immediately was excited by what I saw. The engineers did a magnificent job blending the old and the new.
“When the folks from Facilities came in here, they said, ‘Yeah, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, but the bones of this building — that’s the phrase they used — were magnificent, and we should preserve the bones because this is built like a fortress.’ They recognized it’s solid, and it’s going to stand for a long time. It didn’t make sense to tear it down.”
Instead, the task was to blend tradition with newness so teaching could thrive.
He gestured to the Cafe for Active Language Learning — aka The CALL — as a proof point: flexible, interactive and buzzing with activity.
“This is just one example of a space that allows faculty to be much more innovative in what they teach and how they teach it.”
Community, scholarship and karaoke
Inside The CALL, the vision felt anything but abstract. The reception there became the liveliest corner of the reopening — students, faculty, alumni and guests clustered around small tables, conversation rising over old-fashioned tablecloths and trays of refreshments.
Someone joked that it felt more like a Paris cafe than a classroom. And French Professor Sarah Mosher, who designed and directs the space, said that was exactly the point.
“This is a dream,” Mosher said. “We teach our classes here five days a week, and in the evenings and weekends we have cultural events booked almost every night.”
With movable furniture, screens in every direction, and even a working kitchen, The CALL was built for immersive learning, theater, guest speakers and community gatherings — and sometimes karaoke (and yes, even complete with a disco ball). “We wanted to create a space that was for right now — and for the babies born this year who’ll take classes here 18 years from now.”
Students translated that vision into feeling. Heather Schwartz, a senior Spanish major and intern helping host The CALL, said she sees eyes “bug out” whenever she gives a tour.
“This is the first in what I believe is going to be a trend,” she said, noting French enrollment is “way up” because of the cafe’s appeal.
“It’s so connection-focused — that’s why students are really excited about it.”
Isabel O’Neil, another intern and a Commercial Aviation/French double-major from Rochester, N.Y., described walking through “a time capsule.”
“I remember one night the sun was shining on (Merrifield’s) big bronze doors, and they were just glowing. It was almost magical,” she said. “And then you walk into the classroom, and you’re just walking into a new experience. You don’t see that anywhere else. Looking at all the different colleges that I had visited, I hadn’t seen anything like that. It’s really unique and special.”
For O’Neil, Merrifield is a calling, a place that belongs equally to past, present and future.
Students at the heart
If alumni marveled at preservation, current students spoke to what it means to live and learn in the renovated space. Madilyn Lee, a senior in Philosophy & Ethics with a Pre-Law concentration, remembered wandering in as a first-year student.
“Wow, that staircase,” she recalled. “I was enamored by the giant staircases and the window wells. I just thought this is the most beautiful place on campus.”
She took a picture there her freshman year, and years later landed in the same spot for a UND marketing photo.
“I had my full-circle moment, and I’m really thankful for every single person who made this possible,” Lee said. “It truly is an incredible place to learn and grow as a student. I want everyone to just know students really appreciate spaces like this. We truly all make memories in this building, and it’s impacted me more than I can express.”
