Central Michigan University

Anspach Hall is one of the two main classroom buildings where students take the majority of their undergraduate liberal arts courses. Anspach Hall houses the departments of English; history; journalism; philosophy and religion; political science; and sociology, anthropology and social work.

Anspach Hall was built as a social sciences building. The structure was designed, like many of Central's buildings, by Roger Allen and Associates of Grand Rapids. The building was the original home of WCMU-TV. Many buildings have cornerstones that contain documents relating to the time period in which the building was constructed. In addition to the usual newspaper front pages, Anspach's contains an essay written by then-president William Boyd entitled, "Dissent: An American Tradition."

An unusual conflict arose during construction of the building between the head of the History Department and the architects. Richard Wysong disagreed with the architects, Norvall Bovee, the university controller, over the placement of bookshelves. Bovee and Allen placed the bookshelves behind the door when it was open. Wysong argued that a historian's books needed to be accessible, rather than hidden behind the opened door. In the end a compromise was reached.

Before Anspach was finished, plans were being made for a second social sciences building, which eventually led to the construction of Moore Hall.

The building was dedicated on April 8, 1967 in honor of Charles Anspach, former president of the University. Anspach received his BA and MA from Ashland College in Ohio and his PhD from the University of Michigan. He taught at Eastern Michigan before returning to Ashland as president. He came to Central in 1939 and served as president until 1959. In addition to his service to Central, he was a delegate to the 1962 state constitutional convention, served as a director of a bank in Mt. Pleasant, and after retiring from Central, served on the governing board of Eastern Michigan University. He also enjoyed speaking to high school commencements and various organizations. He and his wife Mary had two daughters.

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