Higley Hall

Higley Hall and its recent addition, the Fischman Wing, house the Department of Biology. Higley provides biology students with a range of specialty facilities, including a greenhouse, environmental chambers for holding plants and animals under controlled conditions, a tissue culture lab, a fluorescence microscopy lab, and a lab for handling radioactive materials. Faculty research labs equipped with the most modern instrumentation are also used for laboratory courses in microbiology, neurophysiology, molecular biology, developmental biology, and genetics. Two computer-equipped classrooms provide broad access to specialized software for bioinformatics, digital image analysis, and satellite-based Geographic Information Systems. Biology and molecular biology majors often congregate in the Reading Room, a comfortable lounge that contains several computers for student use. During the summer, Higley is abuzz with activity as Kenyon Summer Science Scholars conduct research with faculty mentors.

Higley Auditorium offers an alternative venue to Rosse and Brandi Halls for campus lectures, films, and presentations.

Higley Hall Fast Facts
Higley Hall: In Our Own Words
Offices and Departments in Higley

Higley Hall Fast Facts

Built: 1968-69; the Fischman Wing of Higley Hall opened in 2001.

Named for: Albert and Beverly Higley, parents of Sharon Higley Watts, Class of 1978, and Kenyon benefactors. The Fischman Wing is named for brothers Donald A. Fischman, Class of 1957, and Steven S. Fischman, Class of 1963. Both are benefactors of the sciences at Kenyon; Steven is a trustee.

Current use: Biology classrooms and laboratories; biology department office; auditorium for classes, film screenings, and presentations by visiting lecturers and writers

Historical notes: The Higley family has profoundly shaped the Kenyon campus. The Albert M. Higley Company, a Cleveland-based construction firm, built the Bolton Theater, Olin Library, Gund Commons, and the Kenyon Athletic Center, among other Kenyon buildings.

Insider information: The biology department's greenhouse not only provides sophisticated climate controls for plants that are used in classes and research projects, but is also the site of "open potting" every Friday afternoon, when anyone can bring their houseplants and get help repotting them. Potting soil is free.

Higley Hall: In Our Own Words

"I'm biased toward the science quad, a great place to study. Sitting on a lounge chair by the window, looking out over the woods. It's dangerous, though, because the couches are so comfortable I sometimes fall asleep!" —Lisa Maurer, Class of 2004, molecular biology and mathematics major

Offices and Departments in Higley

Biology, molecular biology, biochemistry