More than 100 Blue Hens gathered on February 18 to celebrate the conclusion of a four-year, campus-wide project to investigate the original color of Old College Hall. Alumni and students joined the staff and faculty of 23 UD departments, schools and programs to celebrate the opening of two superb exhibitions — the Colors of Old College and Colors, Land and Building. The daylong event was educational and festive, with performances filling the evening hours. Read about the research findings in UDaily's Old College comes to life.

The Old College project had a humble beginning in late 2020 when a small group of researchers began searching for answers about the University's oldest building. The team comprised four faculty members from Art Conservation, Art History, Center for Historic Architecture and Design, and the Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library (Vimalin Rujivacharakul, Debra Hess Norris, Chandra Reedy, and Catherine Matsen). Peter Krawchyck, Vice President of Facilities, Real Estate, and Auxiliary Services, sent painters, technicians and a forklift. University photographer Evan Krape captured the team's research steps. The site research took place in multiple rounds, with several rounds for architectural investigation and three specific rounds for paint samples’ extraction.

In the spring of 2023, the lab results revealed that the oldest physical paints on Old College’s exterior only dated to 1917. To identify earlier paint histories, the team changed the plan and searched archives and other historical artifacts. The project grew and so did the partnership. By the summer of 2023, the project gained more members from the Library, Museums, and Press and colleagues from the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, University Archives and Records Management, the Student Multimedia Design Center, IT Academic Technology Services, the Office of Communications and Marketing and the Newark Historical Society & Museum.  

In the fall of 2023, participants led satellite projects to study the history of Old College, the Old College paints, the Old College Historic District Digital Walking Tour, and the history of Newark and Old College. To showcase the research results, the Museums team, led by Amanda Zehnder and Lori Birrell, facilitated an exhibition idea. In 2024, Art & Design, Music and Theatre and Dance colleagues translated the findings into products beyond written records. In fall 2024, the Center for Global Programs & Services provided materials about the history of international students at Old College. Facilities staff, Media Services, and the Student Multimedia Design Center offered technical support, while Library and Museums colleagues pushed hard to complete the exhibition.

It became evident that the Old College project had united UD, and this unique project now belonged to everyone working for it. What came out of this project—research, exhibition, cross-unit collaboration and friendship—is the evidence of the people of the University of Delaware’s faith in one another and their strong sense of community. Everyone lent a hand, overcame differences and joined together in pursuing the University’s history—precisely the people’s stories told through the layers of building paint.