Time passages: Clock tower stands tall after nearly quarter-century

One of Binghamton University’s most recognizable campus faces has brought the campus community together for nearly a quarter of a century.

The clock tower is located atop the University Union, facing the Peace Quad and The Spine.

The campus saw many projects in the late 1990s and early 2000s, such as the opening of Academic Building A, Academic Building B and Mohawk Hall. The construction of the $14.6 million University Union West, including the clock tower, was one of the biggest projects at the time.

Karen Fennie, communications specialist for facilities management since 1999, says architects intended to create a “focal point” for the campus.

“It’s something visible from a number of vantage points. One could point to it and say, ‘Meet me at the clock tower,’ or ‘Such and such is right near the clock tower,’” she says.

The tower stands at 140 feet tall, with two clocks that face north and west. It was originally designed to include three, but Fennie says the architect changed the plan to allow for two flag poles.

Wasim Ahmad ’04 wrote a story for Pipe Dream about the clock tower’s construction in 2001, while he was a news editor for the student publication. He is now a photojournalist and assistant teaching professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.

“As an alum who has been back to Binghamton several times, the clock tower has become a defining feature of campus,” Ahmad says. “I saw objections to it — journalists at the time thinking this was a waste of money. It turns out that it has become part of the identity of Binghamton University.”