The Department of Political Science was the favored tenant when N.W Harris built Harris Hall to house the new department headed by his son, N. D. Harris. In the early years, the political science faculty had offices on the first floor. But by 1950, only the chair's office remained there. The expanded faculty moved into basement offices, while the university telephone exchange took the space it had vacated. By the early 1960s, several faculty members were located in windowless offices, one of which (mine) was a passageway between a conference room and another office. The department was widely regarded as having the poorest office space of any major department in the university.

Upon returning to Northwestern in 1970 after having served a term as department chair at the University of Washington, David Minar resolved to move the department to better quarters. When Norris Center opened in 1970, space became available in the old student center, Scott Hall. Promising that Buildings and Grounds would make the space in Scott Hall look be-yootiful, the University Architect shopped it around to space candidates and found no takers. Even the Sociology Department turned it down--having little faith in either B&G's competence or taste.

But Minar saw the possibilities in a remodeled Scott Hall and snapped it up. He worked closely with the architect and construction crew; wrangled for more space here, better construction there; and created a departmental home that was vastly superior to the basement digs at Scott Hall. Afterward, the sociology faculty kicked themselves for turning down the new space and staying in the two old houses they still occupy, one block south on Chicago Avenue.

Sadly, David Minar died of kidney failure in the spring of 1973 before he could see the completed project. To commemorate his contribution to the department, the faculty prevailed on the Board of Trustees to dedicate the 4th floor departmental offices as the Minar Tower in Scott Hall. The dedication plaque, dated Mary 21, 1973, is on the wall above the stairs to the 4th floor.