Aaron Miller
Poling Hall’s days are numbered. Ivy Tech’s new building on the Columbus campus is nearing completion. It is all part of the transformation taking place on the north side of Columbus, which also includes renovations to the Columbus Learning Center.
Our facilities staff have done a valiant job of keeping Poling Hall running while moving the college to the new Moravec Hall. And in the midst of holding classes and grading assignments during the spring semester, the inhabitants of Poling Hall have been packing to move.
I’ve spent more than a few hours, in the words of Texas singer-songwriter Kate Wolf, “I’ve been siftin’ through the layers of dusty books and faded papers.”
When poring through the stuff that had been collecting in my office for years, I wondered why in the world I had held onto some of those priceless treasures for so long. Most of it went into the shredder or the recycling bin. It was pretty much the same process you go through when moving to a new place to live. You reach a point of such indifference and exhaustion, you’re ready to junk it all. I might have even come across the original Magna Carta and decided to pitch it, figuring someone must have a copy of it if I really needed it in the future. Somehow I purged enough stuff to get all my valuables into just two boxes. It felt great to get rid of all that stuff.
But there was a story in the mountain of paperwork that is now trash. It told the tale of students who put their trust in Ivy Tech and in me. It reminded me of the students who overcame adversity to graduate and then transfer or get the job they always wanted. I reread some of the stunning, creative, and original ideas my students developed over the years. I remembered the times students told me when I was wrong. They had done their own research, found reliable sources and data, and come to a different conclusion. And they weren’t afraid to start a debate. It doesn’t get much better than that.
I came across papers with a single well crafted sentence. That’s another victory. I had files of communications and records from faculty who are no longer with the college. Some have retired while others are teaching elsewhere. A few, like Mike Spencer, a great math professor, have sadly passed away. Whether it was just sharing an occasional lunch or going to China on a faculty exchange for a month, it was an honor and an adventure to work with so many great people.
Going through all of those old books and papers reminded me of why the college built Poling Hall in the first place. It had its drawbacks — a lack of natural light and a little too much reliance on concrete blocks. And by 2022, it was dated. But we are using Poling Hall in ways that weren’t even imagined when it was built. Ivy Tech now offers programs in careers that didn’t exist in 1983.
Despite the ever-changing demands on the structure, it continued its purpose. It was a workshop for dreams. Since 1983, students who dared to become a pilot, nurse, teacher, and so many other things, made those dreams come true. I don’t think I’m alone in looking at the final days of Poling with a sense of nostalgia and maybe a little melancholy.
The new building is open, bright, and airy. It is modern, in terms of both architecture and technology. It’s going to be a big change from our old digs in Poling. It’s going to be an exciting place for students. While the place may change, the story stays the same. The new building will also be a workshop for dreams. But maybe this time, I’ll hang on to a lot less paperwork.
