TERRE HAUTE Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A former Indiana State University president, Dr. Lloyd Benjamin III, will be speaking about the architectural history of ISU at the Swope Art Museum. 

Dr. Benjamin will be speaking on Friday, Nov 18 as a part of the Swope’s monthly ‘Artists on Art’ event in which the Swope invites an artist to present or speak about their own works, artwork at the Swope, or an area of interest for future projects. 

After studying architecture for 13 years, Dr. Benjamin published his book, Building a Legacy, in concurrence with Indiana State University’s sesquicentennial. 

“My interest in writing about architecture goes back to my undergraduate days at Emory University when, as a fledgling art historian, one of my professors observed I wrote well about architecture,” Benjamin said. “Like works of art, the buildings I saw were the concretization of their times. What were the stories ISU’s buildings might tell?”

Having served as president from 2000-2008, Dr. Benjamin described his interest in the buildings around campus.

“I began to see that the citizens of Terre Haute did something really extraordinary in their history,” Benjamin explained. “Building a Legacy dives into the history of many ISU buildings with both their successes and complications, as the book describes ISU as a network of changing architectural styles and its growth through the years.”

Admission for the talk is free. The Swope is located at 25 S. 7 Street and is open Tuesday-Sunday 12-5 p.m.