ASU dedicates new bell tower with ribbon cutting

Aaron McGuire
·2 min read

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Angelo State University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 29 to dedicate Housley Tower, a new bell tower located near the center of the campus.

The tower, named in honor of the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert Housley, is located between the Stephens Chapel and South Johnson Street. Standing at approximately 65 feet tall and spanning 215 square feet, the tower’s architecture is designed to match the neighboring chapel while also allowing pedestrians to pass through it due to arched entries located on each side of the structure.

“The Housley Tower is the new iconic structure of the campus,” ASU President Ronnie Hawkins Jr. said. “Bob Housley believed in the same commitment to excellence and the community that we strive to uphold at Angelo State, and the Housley Tower stands as our joint symbol of those values. This is definitely a proud day for the entire Ram Family.”

Housley Tower sports an electronic Verdin Carillon Bell system that is programmed to play 7,800 songs, such as the ASU Fight Song, using multiple bell voices. It has 25 customizable tolling bells and eight clock chimes. The tower also contains color-changing LED lights that are expected to be used for the first time during spring commencement ceremonies on May 10-11.

The tower will sound chimes daily at 8 a.m., 11:48 a.m. and 5 p.m. The 11:48 a.m. chimes signify the exact time the legislation was signed that created Angelo State College as a four-year, state-supported institution on May 17, 1963.

The tower project was funded by a generous gift from Mona Housley in memory of her late husband, Bob Housley, founder of Housley Communications, who had a long-standing dream of putting a bell tower on the ASU campus.

The tower project was funded by a generous gift from Mona Housley in memory of her late husband, Robert Housley, founder of Housley Communications, who had a long-standing dream of putting a bell tower on the ASU campus.

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