Crouse-Hinds Hall
"Crouse-Hinds Hall" by Architectural Resources Cambridge Inc., and Sargent Webster Crenshaw and Folley , 1981-1983
Crouse-Hinds was originally built to house the School of Management. After the construction of the Whitman School of Management Building in 2005, Crouse-Hinds became home to many administrative offices. Today, the building contains the Chancellor’s Office, the Provost’s Office, the Office of Admissions, and The Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience among other administrative offices. The eight-story red brick building includes ninety-seven offices, twelve classrooms, several seminar rooms, and an auditorium that can seat 200. In February and March of 2020, #NotAgainSU protesters occupied the building to protect the university’s handling of a series of racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic incidents that occurred on or near campus starting in early November of 2019.
Crouse-Hinds was originally built to meet the burgeoning enrollment demands of the School of Management in the early 1980s. Chris Witting, former chair of the SU’s Board of Trustees and the Crouse-Hinds Corporation, took the lead in gathering funds for the naming of the building. The Crouse-Hinds Corporation donated a $2.5 million dollar naming gift.
Chris J. Witting was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on April 7, 1915. Witting started his career as a public accountant at Price Waterhouse in New York City. He earned his B.S. from New York University in 1941 while working his way through college. That same year, Price Waterhouse promoted Witting to comptroller and treasurer of Camp Shows USA (later USO Camp Shows). During his tenure, Camp Shows had 10,000 entertainers working in all areas where servicemen and women were stationed during World War II. Considered a leading figure in the early years of television, Witting developed the Allen B. Dumont organization from a six-man group to 800 personnel, operating wholly owned stations in New York, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC, as well as a TV network relationship in 58 cities. Dumont became the first commercial operating television network in the country, with regularly scheduled news broadcasts from Washington, DC to New York City. He left Dumont in 1953 to become president of the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. While he was at Westinghouse Broadcasting, every Westinghouse radio and TV station was rated number one in its market. Witting later joined the parent company in Pittsburgh, as group vice president in charge of the electronic components and consumer products divisions. In 1964 he moved to the International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. (ITT) in New York City, serving as second in command to the president and chairman, Harold Geneen. At ITT, Witting directed the world headquarters marketing, manufacturing, and technical activities, as well as two subsidiaries, ITT Export Corp. and Distributed Products Co. Then in April 1965 Witting joined Crouse-Hinds as President and Chief Executive Officer and led the company into the Fortune 500. It wasn’t until 1975 that he shifted from president to chairman when Cooper Industries bought Crouse-Hinds. Witting remained active long after his 1982 retirement, operating his own investment company. He devoted his efforts to helping others achieve business success, not only investing in local companies, but also endowing the Witting Chair in Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. Mr. Witting holds an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Clarkson College of Technology, Potsdam, New York.
Witting was known for his belief in the power of individuals and positive thinking. His management style was to empower his employees, delegating responsibility and giving them every incentive to improve their skills and advance. He served as president of the Manufacturers Association of Syracuse, chairman of the board of trustees of Syracuse University, and a member, board member, and director of numerous other groups, including the Everson Museum, Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York, and Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his long life, Witting enjoyed the outdoors, camping, hiking, and doing chores on his property. Nearly every day he rose before dawn to go jogging, accompanied by one of his beloved dogs, no matter what the weather. He passed away peacefully at his home in Syracuse on December 19, 2005.
SU University Archives; "Crouse-Hinds Hall." University Archives: Buildings of SU; Gorney, J. (2006). Syracuse University: An Architectural Guide. SU Press; Hippensteel, C., and Folts. E. (2020, February 17). “#NotAgainSU occupies Crouse-Hinds Hall. The Daily Orange; Heppensteel, C., and Folts, E. (2020, March 14). “#NotAgainSU sit-in enters 27th day, continues into spring break.” The Daily Orange; " Crouse-Hinds Hall. SU Classroom Resource Guide." (2019). SU Answers website; SU Photo and Imaging Center.