David R. Hermansen (1928-1994)

An educator, architect, historian, and preservationist, Professor David R. Hermansen was the first faculty member of the new College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University in 1966.  A pioneering individual, Professor Hermansen founded and became the first director of Ball State's graduate program in historic preservation in 1976. Helping establish the first curriculum, Hermansen structured the history of architecture courses along typological lines ("history of housing, "history of city planning," etc.), rather than the typical chronological arrangement.  During his tenure, he helped establish the Architecture Library and the Architecture Slide Collection, which was later named in his honor. Within three years, from 1966-1968, these centers had amassed 35,000 volumes and 6,000 slides. Professor Hermansen also initiated and administered the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) program at the college. In 1994, he retired from teaching.  He passed away on December 17, 1994.

A native of Chicago, Hermansen received bachelors and masters degrees in architecture from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and was an Army veteran.  During his time as a student, he worked for architectural firms in Chicago and Bloomington, Illinois. He taught at the University of Kansas between 1954 and 1966, and was a practicing architect in Kansas before moving to Indiana. Soon after arriving in Muncie, Professor Hermansen discovered that the Delaware County Courthouse was scheduled for demolition. He began to document courthouses throughout the state, and compiled his findings in a book titled Indiana County Courthouses of the 19th Century. A photographic exhibit of his research was shown in all 92 courthouses within Indiana, and also at the Octagon Building in Washington D.C., which housed the American Institute of Architects. This project made Professor Hermansen one of the leading authorities on Indiana courthouses.

He was a director of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, member of the Indiana Historic Preservation Review Board and the Muncie Historic Preservation and Rehabilitation Commission, and received the first Wilbur D. Peat award for Outstanding Contribution to the Understanding and Appreciation of Indiana's Architectural Heritage. In 2003, he was posthumously honored by the College of Architecture and Planning Alumni Society Governing Board with the Charles M. Sappenfield Award of Excellence, an award given to CAP faculty members who have provided dedicated service to the students of the college.  A historic preservation award and a memorial scholarship named in his honor exist for students in the Masters of Science Program in Historic Preservation.