What’s Up with All the Names?

Every college has specific names for its dining halls, residence halls, and sports complexes. You may have heard of Habecker Dining Commons or Roush Hall on HU’s home campus, but what do these names mean, and who are the people behind them? This post will be dedicated to residence halls and academic buildings, and the next post in the series will focus on the athletic complex and all named spaces at HU.

For clarification: Huntington University began as Central College, changing its name to Huntington College (HC) in 1917 and becoming Huntington University in 2005.

Without further ado, here is a little history behind the names at HU:

Residence Halls

• Baker Hall

Dr. E. DeWitt Baker was the tenth president of HC from 1965 to 1981. He and his wife, Evelyn, served 16 years as missionaries with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

• Hardy Hall

Mr. and Mrs. Carl A. Hardy prompted a major gift which made Hardy Hall possible.

• Livingston Hall

Samuel Livingston was a UB pastor at College Park Church and was professor emeritus of theology at Central College.

• Meadows Hall

Clyde W. Meadows was a UB pastor, bishop, HC alum, and Board of Trustees member.

• Miller Hall

C. Ray Miller was an HC alum, UB pastor, conference superintendent, denomination leader, and forty-seventh bishop of the UB Church.

• Roush Hall

J. Edward Roush was a U.S. congressman and the father of the 911 call center. He was on the Board of Trustees at HC and once even served as interim college president.

• Wright Hall

Milton Wright was a UB bishop at the time Central College was founded and was father of the famous aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Academic Buildings

• Becker Hall

Dr. Elmer Becker was a pastor, counselor, church and community leader, crusader for the cause of Christian higher education, and ninth president of HC, serving from 1941 to 1965.

• Don Strauss Animal Science Education Center

Don Strauss was the founder of Strauss Veal Feeds and Midwest Poultry Services, major corporate donors.

• Dowden Science Hall

Dr. G. Blair Dowden was the twelfth president of HU, serving from 1991 to 2013. He oversaw the change from “college” to “university” and built or remodeled eight buildings on campus, as well as adding serval academic programs.

• Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies

Dale and Elaine Haupert have a long history with farming, HU, and the UB church.

• Loew-Brenn Hall

Loew-Brenn Hall was once two halls! Loew Hall was named for Fred Loew, an HU alumnus and professor of biology. Brenn Hall was named for Jacob L. Brenn of Huntington Labs, a local businessman who led the Huntington College Foundation.

• RichLyn Library

Richard and Lynette Merillat are members of the Merillat family, longtime HU supporters. RichLyn is a combination of their first names.

Want to learn more about HU history? Check out our timeline.