In 1906, the State Legislature granted St. Lawrence University a charter to operate a School of Agriculture because the nearest similar school was over 200 miles away at Cornell. Its male students were taught modern farming and dairying methods, while women took classes in domestic science and housekeeping. Memorial Hall was originally used as an official U.S.D.A. weather station and later served as headquarters of SLU's ROTC program; today it houses offices for SLU's Environmental and Canadian Studies departments. The main buildings of the school, now called Piskor Hall, Payson Hall, and Memorial Hall, were constructed between 1909 and 1911, while fields, barns, and other outbuildings were placed elsewhere on the grounds. For years the main building was called Cook Hall in honor of an early dean, then was renamed in 1983 for SLU President Emeritius Frank Piskor. The former agricultural school dairy building later became the home of North Country Public Radio, and Payson Hall now contains St. Lawrence's Admissions and Financial Aid Offices. In time, the School of Agriculture was renamed the Agricultural and Technical Institute, and by 1948 the State University of New York had taken over its operation. In 1969, a new campus for Canton ATC, today's SUNY Canton, opened across town, and St. Lawrence University reacquired its original agricultural school buildings, all of which are fully renovated and in use.