The Buildings of Arts & Sciences — Part Two

April 2, 2025

In the second installment of a multi-part series which looks at the buildings partially or totally occupied by Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences, we look at Tidwell Bible Building, Morrison Constitution Hall and the Castellaw Communications Center.

Tidwell Bible Building (1954)
Tidwell Bible Building

The 71-year-old Tidwell Bible Building was named for Dr. Josiah Blake Tidwell, who served from 1910 to 1946 as the head of Baylor University’s Bible department. In 1936, 125 of Tidwell’s former students proposed that a $100,000 Bible building be built on campus and named in his honor, but he would die before the building became a reality.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 28, 1949, but it would take another four years after that before construction began. The delay was due to problems raising the funds required, as well as the need to come up with revisions for the building after the first plan –– which called for a 10-story structure featuring a glass wall of light 110 feet tall –– was rejected by Baylor’s Board of Trustees.

Construction on Tidwell finally got underway in April 1953, and it was formally dedicated at Homecoming on Oct. 22, 1954. Part of the building’s exterior design featured 68 limestone panels, carved by sculptor Ira Correll of Austin, showing scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

When Tidwell opened, it was home to the departments of religion, history, sociology, philosophy, sacred music and German, and also had some offices used by the School of Nursing. The building reopened in August 2021 after a 15-month total renovation, and today it houses the Arts & Sciences departments of religion, history and sociology.

On April 4, 2023, Baylor dedicated statues of the University’s first two Black graduates –– Rev. Robert Gilbert and Barbara Walker –– which stand in front of the building they both attended classes in.

Morrison Hall (1955)
Morrison Hall

Like many older buildings on the Baylor campus, Morrison Constitution Hall has been repurposed from its original intent. It was designed as a permanent home for Baylor Law School, which had been occupying space in other buildings scattered across campus. 

Construction on the building began in the summer of 1954, and it was named in honor of Baylor benefactors Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Morrison of San Antonio. The building, which contained three floors and 38,000 square feet of floor space in its original configuration, was dedicated on Nov. 4, 1955, in ceremonies featuring U. S. Senator Price Daniel, a Baylor alumnus.

On April 27, 1974, the three-story, 15,000-square-foot Leon Jaworski Wing addition was dedicated –– which was named after the Baylor Law alumnus and Watergate special prosecutor. A third major addition to the building –– the Advocacy Wing –– was dedicated on April 12, 1985.

As Baylor approached the start of the 21st century, it was evident that Baylor Law School was rapidly outgrowing its home of more than 40 years. In 1998, Baylor alumnus Walter Umphrey (BBA ’59, JD ’65) and his wife Sheila joined with other Baylor lawyers to fund the construction that moved Baylor Law School from Morrison Hall to the state-of-the-art Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center along the Brazos River, which was dedicated on April 6, 2002.

After the law school departed, Morrison Hall remained empty for about a year to allow for a major renovation of the building. The building was rededicated on Aug. 28, 2002, providing a home for the Baylor Graduate School and Honors College, as well as the Arts & Sciences departments of classics, philosophy and modern foreign languages. The Honors College has relocated across campus, and as of the start of the Fall 2025 semester, three A&S departments --  classics, philosophy and communication -- will share the building with the Graduate School.

Castellaw Communications Center (1974)
Castellaw

In December 1968, Mrs. Janie Castellaw of Denton –– the mother of Jack Castellaw, one of the Baylor students known as the Immortal Ten who died in a bus accident in 1927 –– made the initial gift to fund what would become the Castellaw Communications Center. 

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 20, 1972, and the College of Arts & Sciences departments of journalism, oral communication and radio-TV-film began moving in during January 1974. A formal dedication ceremony for the two-story building was held on May 16, 1974.

In its earliest years, Castellaw not only provided space for the Baylor Lariat student newspaper, but for the studios KWBU-FM, Baylor’s student-operated radio station. KWBU eventually became a National Public Radio affiliate, and relocated to the L.L. Sams Building in 2010.

The Castellaw Communication Center now provides space for the offices and newsroom of the Baylor Lariat, as well as housing two Arts & Sciences departments –– film & digital media, and journalism, public relations and new media. In the summer of 2025, the Department of Communication, which had been housed in Castellaw since the building’s opening in 1974, will relocate to space in Morrison Constitution Hall.


This article originally appeared in the Spring 2025 edition of Baylor Arts & Sciences magazine.


ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 

The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website