History

History of Collins LLC

Collins Living-Learning Center was established in 1972 as one of the first of its kind in the United States. Before it became a living-learning center, our Quad was home to the Men’s Residence Center, famous for its victorious teams in the Little 500 as well as Olympic swimmers. Collins pioneered educational programming, introducing student-taught workshops (Q199 classes) as well as the Board of Educational Programming, in which students interview potential seminar instructors and collaborate with faculty to assemble the curriculum. Collins students have been publishing an annual arts and literary magazine for over forty years. Many other traditions mark the year at Collins, creating a lifetime of memories that you will become part of.

The Collins gnomes

Three stained glass windows in the lobby of Edmondson Hall depict gnomes involved in different activities. These gnomes show up on our t-shirts, in our publications, and even in our slogans:

“Home is where the gnome is”
“We put the ‘know’ in gnome!”
“There’s no place like gnome”

Silhouette of a student reading in front of three stain glass windows

Small gnome statue holding a sign that reads, "Gnome sweet gnome"

Student Historian

Jillian Blackburn

Historian

jilblack@iu.edu

Hi, I'm Jillian!! I'm a freshman studying Public Relations with a minor in Spanish, and I'm also in the PACE program. Hence my choice to serve you as Collins Historian! I'm looking forward to organizing events that highlight the vibrant history of the LLC and the beautiful buildings in which we reside, as well as document the history that we are currently making. When I'm not obsessively checking my email or making late night Chesh runs, I love spending time with my friends, watching video essays, and crushing my personal record on the New York Times mini crossword.

Collins history timeline

1924
Washington Hall completed (first IU men’s dormitory), renamed South Hall in 1925 and Smith Hall in 1959.
1940
West Hall (Edmondson from 1959) and North Hall (Cravens from 1959) completed, creating the Men's Residence Center (MRC).
1942-1943
Ralph L. Collins serves as headmaster at MRC.
1949-1950
Construction of Hillcrest Apartments is completed on Fess between 10th and Cottage Grove.
1951-1953
MRC bike teams win the first three consecutive Little 500s: South Hall Buccaneers in 1951; North Hall Friars in 1952 and 1953 (never since repeated as of writing).
1961
Woodlawn Dormitory Complex, including Brown and Greene Halls, built between Cottage Grove and 11th, Woodlawn and Forrest.
1969
Mark Spitz, 7-time Olympic gold medal winner (in 1972 games), lives in Cravens and swims for IU.
1970-1971
The MRC officially goes co-ed.
1972
The “Save the MRC” student campaign prevents the halls from becoming office and classroom buildings and creates the Living-Learning Center. First known as the MRC-LLC, it is one of the first institutions of its kind in the U.S.
1972
The Board of Educational Programming (BoEP) was fundamental to the creation of the LLC in 1972.
1976
Creation of student taught Q 199: Residential Learning Workshop
1976
Creation of the Dancing Star arts and literary magazine
1977-1989
Professor Ernest Bernhardt Kabisch (for whom the coffeehouse is later named) serves as Collins director.
1978
The first Dickens Dinner takes place.
1978-1979
LLC student activity fee starts at $10 a semester.
1979-1980
The first MRC-LLC yearbook is created.
1980
Brown and Greene Halls (“the Hill”) become part of MRC/Collins.
1980
The first Renaissance Fair which would later become CollinsFest.
1980-1981
The MRC-LLC is renamed the Ralph L. Collins Living-Learning Center.
1983
The first Viennese Ball takes place.
1989
Students petition and protest the Psychology department's proposal to take over Brown and Greene.
1990
Creation of the student-run Cheshire Cafe.
1990-2004
Carl Ziegler serves as Collins director.
1998 (or earlier)
Creation of the Collins Clubhouse in a nearby residential house owned by IU.
1998
Collins Arts Council is created.
1998
Collins celebrates the 25th anniversary of being an LLC, with a large alumni reunion in the summer.
1998-2000
Collins acquires all but the north wing of Hillcrest apartments
2004
Clubhouse moves to Brown Hall.
2004-2011
Ellen Dwyer serves as Collins director.
2010
Creation of The Pipe & The Barrow, scholarly magazine.
2011-2018
Carl Ipsen serves as Collins director.
2012
Summer reunion to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the LLC.
2012
Collins Sustainable Food Committee is created and Smith kitchen (“Smitchen”) is renovated.
2015
Brown and Greene torn down to make way for Luddy Hall. The Clubhouse moves to Hillcrest.
2018
Padraic Kenney becomes director.
2019
Collins receives an Indiana University Bicentennial Historical Marker.
2019
SustainCollins program is established
2020
Lara Kriegel becomes director.
2021
Collins LLC moves to Foster-Shea for the year while the Main Quad is renovated.
2022
Renovations on the Collins quad are completed and the LLC moves back to its buildings for Fall of 2022.
2022
ACT Humanities program is established
2023
With the renovation completed, Collins LLC celebrates its 50+1 anniversary with an alumni reunion attended by over 250 alumni.