Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
Through the balmy air of night
How they ring out their delight!
-from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Bells”When students return to ETSU next fall, the sights and sounds of campus will be a lot more musical.
As ETSU quickly approaches its 100th anniversary in the year 2011, the ETSU Foundation under Tim Jones, and the Alumni Association under Dan Mahoney, have partnered with ETSU President Paul E. Stanton Jr. to bring a new musical instrument to campus – a carillon.
What is a carillon? Well, it is a collection of bells, usually more than 23, which may be rung in rapid succession to play a tune.
“Too often people look at it as a clock tower or a bell tower, but it’s really a work of art and a musical instrument, one of the largest musical instruments in the world,” said Jeremy Ross, associate vice president of university advancement and the campaign leader for the carillon project.
ETSU’s carillon will have 26 bells, under production in Holland by the Verdin Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio.
In addition to the 25 bells that will be housed in the tower, the carillon will include an extra 250-pound bell, Ross said. This bell will be called the Alumni Bell.
The Alumni Bell will be cast in the spirit of the “Unity Bell,” which Ross said was a feature at graduations and other ceremonies as recently as the 1970s, but was somehow lost.
“[The Unity Bell] was around in the ’80s … but miraculously it disappeared,” said Bob Plummer, executive director of ETSU Alumni Association and associate vice president of University Advancement.
The carillon’s Alumni Bell may revive a lost tradition, Ross said, or return in a new form. When “Someone graduates, they go through the arch and ring that bell,” Ross said.
Some students, like senior Ben Fowler, like the idea. “As a graduating senior I would enjoy ringing the bell as I graduate,” he said.
But the carillon isn’t just for graduates, it’s meant for everyone to enjoy, Ross said. “The foundation over the years has helped single scholarships or colleges, this time [the foundation] wanted to leave a gift that would affect everyone, and this project, the carillon, will affect 12,000 people every day through the sound of the bells or the beauty of the structure,” Ross said.
The carillon tower will rise to a height of 48 feet, and measure 10 feet by 10 feet at the base.
The tower and the plaza that will surround it will be located between Burgin E. Dossett and Gilbreath Halls, and Ross said this is just the beginning of a long-term campus beautification project.
“I hope that the carillon will bring a tradition to our campus and that the community, alumni, and friends of the university will recognize this structure as a campus landmark,” said Dr. Richard Manahan, ETSU vice president for University Advancement and the foundation’s executive vice president.
“Additionally, the plaza around the tower will provide the campus community with a place to gather, enjoy concerts and will be a rallying point for our whole campus as we move toward our 100th anniversary,” Manahan said.
Concerts are another feature the carillon will bring to campus. The carillon will be connected to a keyboard, which Ross said will be housed in Gilbreath Hall. This will allow students to compose concerts and record their compositions for the carillon by using the keyboard. The concerts can then be heard by everyone on campus.
Some students don’t see the value in the addition of the carillon. “ETSU will find ways to waste money on anything,” said Eddie Jenkins, a junior in journalism.
How much money? The carillon will cost $750,000 and will be funded through the foundation and private donors.
Donors are being asked to purchase bells, and their funds are being matched by the foundation. So far, Ross says 20 out of the 26 bells are spoken for. For their gift, the donors’ names will appear on the bells as well as being recognized in the plaza surrounding the tower.
The fabrication of that tower began April 1 in Cincinnati, Ross said. The plan, weather permitting, is to begin site preparations as soon as classes end on May 9, Ross said.
Over the summer, Burleson Construction will work on erecting the tower, which was designed by Ken Ross Architects, Ross says, to reflect the style of Gilbreath Hall and Sherrod Library. When erected, the brick tower will also feature four illuminated clocks.
A special casting ceremony, with representatives from the Verdin Co., is tentatively scheduled for Pride Week in August 2005.
At the ceremony, Ross says, students and donors will be able to place ingots into the smelting pot as the final bell, the Alumni Bell, is cast.

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