New video viewing center named for Ralph Wolfe

BOWLING GREEN, O.—A new Bowling Green State University resource for the study of film and video will bear the name of its benefactor. The BGSU Board of Trustees on Oct. 2 honored Dr. Ralph Haven Wolfe, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English and Gish Professor of Film Studies, by naming a viewing center in his honor.

Located in Hanna Hall, the Dr. Ralph H. Wolfe Viewing Center will house a collection of VHS films and digital videos. “It’s going to be a wonderful resource for the campus,” predicted Dr. Brett Holden, an assistant professor of theatre and film. “It will be an invaluable tool for the classroom.”

Faculty and students from any discipline will be able to use the viewing center free of charge. The modern, spacious room features individual carrels, each with a DVD and VHS player. 

The center, which will open next spring, is across the hall from the Gish Film Theater and Gallery, “so it’s a good association,” Holden observed.

“I think of it as the Gish complex,” Wolfe said. A spring dedication event is being planned.

Over his 50-year affiliation with BGSU, the North Baltimore resident has championed film studies and was instrumental in the establishment of the Gish Theater in commemoration of the careers of Ohio actresses Dorothy and Lillian Gish. Since his retirement in 1998, he has continued to serve as curator.

Holden has long been involved both with the Gish Theater and with helping to make the viewing center a reality. The center’s collection is being built through donations of films and videos from current and retired faculty, and is becoming quite substantial, with more than 3,000 titles donated by Wolfe alone. In addition to Wolfe, other BGSU faculty, administrators and supporters have contributed funds to build the center, which is entirely funded by private donations.

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(Posted October 06, 2009 )