By Jordan Green, Editor-in-Chief
South Hall will be renamed Cunningham Hall in honor of retired Northwestern President Dr. Janet Cunningham.
The Regional University System of Oklahoma Board of Regents approved the renaming during a meeting on Northwestern’s campus Friday, one day after officials discussed the measure in a committee meeting.
The news comes as a roughly $5 million project to renovate the dormitory nears completion.
South Hall, a dormitory for female students, is one of only a few campus buildings that isn’t named in honor of someone with ties to the university. But that will change with the upcoming rededication ceremony.
During the committee meeting Thursday in the Student Center Wyatt Room, Vice President of Administration Dr. David Pecha showed architectural renderings of what Cunningham Hall will look like.
Large, silver letters like those recently installed on the exteriors of other campus buildings will bear the name of the university’s 19th president, who served in the top role for 16 years. She retired in June.
In an interview with the Northwestern News on Sept. 8, Cunningham said she remains excited for the dormitory reconstruction project.
“I was so excited to get that [remodeling] project started because it was so needed,” Cunningham said. “It’s going to be great. I haven’t been in it yet. I was in it before the end of June, but I haven’t been in it since. But I just hear it’s really good.”
She said she was humbled that the building will be renamed in her honor.
“I just appreciate my senior staff for thinking of that idea and bringing that forward to the board,”
Cunningham said. “That was nice of them to want to commemorate the career. That made me feel good.”
No date for the ceremony has been announced as of press time, and officials have not said when construction is expected to wrap up. The project has been affected by supply chain backlogs.