Iowa State University. Department of Residence.

The Department of Housing was established in 1930. The name was changed to the Department of Residence in 1937. The Deparment of Residence is responsible for the administration, financing, and development of all university student housing facilities.

The first academic building on campus, Old Main, housed 77 men and 16 women in 1869. The President soon recognized a problem in the co-ed housing situation and appointed Mary Lovelace as Preceptress to look after the women students. A room bureau for the men was handled by the YMCA and supervised by the Committee on Student Accommodations. In 1925, the State Board of Education was authorized to borrow money for the construction of housing facilities, with the University pledging the net income from the entire housing system toward repaying the debt incurred, and paying for additions to any part of the system.

After World War II, a great influx of students, specifically male students, severely strained the entire residence hall system. To help manage the large number of students, each floor of the men's dormitories was organized into houses with a head resident in 1949. The head residents comprised the Men's Residence Association, which helped organize and promote activities for the men's residence hall members. It was not until1965 that a similar system of houses and head residents was instituted in the women's dormitories.

In 1969 many of the residence halls became co-educational. The halls that had been traditionally men's dorms were now organized under the Union Drive Association (UDA) and the halls that were traditionally women's dorms were now called the Richardson Court Association (RCA). The Inter-Residence Hall Association (IRHA) was organized in 1982 to provide services and support for all the students living in the residence hall system.

From the description of Tower Houses records, 1967-[ongoing]. (Iowa State University). WorldCat record id: 240594067