Detchon International Center houses the faculty of the Department of Modern Languages and Literature and the Classics Department. The facility includes a reading room, numerous classrooms and seminar rooms, International Hall, and a multi-media computer lab which serves as a language lab from 8am-4pm and an open lab for student use from 7pm until midnight Sunday through Thursday.
The lab contains 24 eMac computers (new, fall 2002) with CD-RW drives and multi-media capabilities, as well as 4 Dell desktop PCs, and a small scanning station open to public use.
For language study, a variety of software is available for student use and, based on class objectives, new software is continually purchased. Additionally, individual faculty members have software and information online for student use.
History
Detchon Center was dedicated on September 23, 1995. Formerly Yandes Hall, it served first as the College's library, then home to the modern languages and art departments, art gallery, recital hall, and radio station. Funding for the renovations was made possible through a generous contribution from Irwin Lee Detchon (July 13, 1900 - July 2, 1994). In the Spring of 1993, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of his graduation from Wabash College, and the 120th anniversary of the Wabash graduation of his father, Irwin Lee Detchon gave his alma mater the collection of his paintings and funded renovation. Part of the Detchon art works are on exhibit in Detchon Center; others are in the Wabash College Fine Arts Center.
Yandes Library was named for its benefactor, Simon Yandes, an Indianapolis attorney and trustee of Wabash. Yandes Hall was completed in 1890 at a cost of $36,695. For the next seventy years it served Wabash students and faculty as the Wabash College Library. The second phase of service began in 1959, when the Lilly Library was completed and the modern languages and art departments relocated to Yandes Hall. In 1993, this third phase of service for the building began. In his welcome address during the Detchon Center dedication on Sept. 23, 1995, Wabash College President Andrew T. Ford stated, "The renovation of Yandes Hall into Detchon Center for Modern Languages and International Studies marks the reaffirmation of the Wabash commitment to doing what Wabash does best: Prepare young men to meet an ever-changing world with the firm foundation of a liberal arts education to guide them on their way."