To honor a late housing-department figurehead, a new University of Wisconsin dormitory under construction on North Park Street will be named Newell J. Smith Hall.
Newell, a UW graduate who served as housing director from 1955 until 1983, was responsible for building a number of the current residence halls on campus, including Ogg, Sellery and Witte Halls.
With 424 beds, air conditioning, larger rooms and an in-house eatery, Newell J. Smith Hall will be the first of two facilities replacing Ogg Hall, according to the university.
During a Sept. 9 Board of Regents meeting addressing the facility's name, Chair of the Physical Planning and Funding Committee and Regent Jesus Salas said he approved of naming the dormitory after Smith.
When introducing Smith as the namesake of the new residence hall, Salas said it would be appropriate to name the Park Street dormitory after Smith because he worked for the university for 28 years and was instrumental in the building of many residential halls, even after spending four years residing in university housing as an undergrad.
The regents unanimously approved the namesake.
Current UW Housing Director Paul Evans said naming the dormitory after Smith is a "fitting tribute" to a person who had a massive impact on the campus.
"So much of the buildings or what we think of housing [at UW] was done while he was director," he said. "Newell was really the significant figure in creating what housing is today."
During the early years of his employment with University Housing, Evans worked under Smith and said the building's name carries a special significance to him.
"Many of us had a chance to work for Newell," he said. "We feel privileged that we're able to honor him with this and we're exited for the opportunity."
Evans added Newell had a national impact on university housing as one of the early leaders of the Association of College University Housing Officers International, a collaborative think tank of housing officials.
"His influence on housing was beyond this campus; it was around the country," he said.
The 10 floors, or "houses," in the residence hall will also be named after prominent UW housing officials.
"We're excited about it," Evans said. "It's the first major residence hall that's been built since the '60s."
