By Verla Roberts
Ever looked around the University’s campus and wonder who are all the people who have their names on the buildings?
Most of the buildings on campus, like most universities, have buildings named after a particular person. Some are named after the person who donated money to have the building built, many are named in honor of a person and sometimes they are just named after a trustee or president.
“Everybody at Hofstra has wondered at one point in time who the buildings were named after,” freshman Chris Baker said. “I always thought they were named after people who made donations.”
Several buildings on campus were honored instead of being named for someone who donated money to have the building built. Some were alive and honored at the dedication, but in most cases, the person died before the naming of the building, professor Geri Solomon, assistant dean of Special Collections for the University, said.
Special Collections is part of the University’s archive office located in the West Campus Library. The University archive office holds all the history of the University from the beginning of its establishment.
Places like Mason Hall built in honor for Kate Mason Hofstra, the wife of William Hofstra, and Roosevelt Hall was for Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States.
“I rarely have the time to do some research into to finding out any of this stuff,” sophomore Mark Cudina said.
People like James Barnard, Howard Brower and Truesdal Calkins all have buildings named after them since they helped establish the University. Barnard and Brower were co-trustees of Kate Mason Hofstra’s estate when she died. According to Solomon, Brower along with Calkins came up with the idea to use the property and the funds from the estate for a college.
New York University initated what is now the University by having a college that was a branch of the school. Barnard, Brower and Calkins were able to convince New York University to use the property for the establishment of Nassau College. He was elected into the Hofstra Board of Trustees in 1937, where he was chairman for a year. Brower was also acting president of the college from 1942 until 1944. Barnard was a corporate lawyer who retired, relocated to New York and became co-trustee of the Hofstra estate. When a new building was built in 1937, the board of trustees dedicated the building in his name. Calkins was the University’s first president in 1937 when the association between the college and New York University was terminated. He had also been the chairman for the board of trustees and remained president until his death in 1942.
“I always wondered about Adams playhouse and the other drama buildings because that’s where I spend most of my time.” sophomore Courtney Miller said.
Some buildings were built to honor people who made contributions to the University. Adams Playhouse was dedicated in honor of John Cranford Adams in 1974. Adams was the second president of the University from 1944 to 1964 and founder of the University’s annual Shakespeare festival. He created a model for the University’s Globe Stage which resembles William Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. Wilbur Breslin was another person who had a building named after them for their contributions to the University. Breslin is a prominent realtor with one of Long Island’s largest and most successful realty company, Breslin Reality which was lanched in 1953. Breslin is an alumnus of the University, a trustee since 1985 and founded the Hofstra Retail Management Institute. He helped the University grow into what it is now. In 1990 a new state of the art classroom building was named in Breslin and his wife’s honor.
Augustus Weller was another person who helped the University grow into what it is now. He was responsible for helping to develop the north side of campus and was very active in the founding of the University’s School of Law. Weller wanted the college to become a University, a dream that was achieved in 1963. He had also been on the board of trustees and became Trustee Emeritus in 1966.
One building in particular was named in honor for people who served our country and the world. Memorial hall was built to honor and pay respects to the veterans of World War II.
“World War II really almost crumpled Hofstra since many students took deferments and took class later on,” Solomon, Assistant Dean of Special Collections said. “The building was built to remember those who served in the war and honor them.”
C.V. Starr Hall was built in honor of Cornelius Vander Starr after his organization help the University build the state-of-the art classroom building. Starr was a famous philanthropist who had insurance companies based throughout the world. When he died in 1976, Starr left his estate in the hands of The Starr Foundation. In 2000, The Starr Foundation completed a three-year grant of 3.5 million to the University to help build C.V. Starr hall.
Two buildings in particular were built in honor of two women for their active roll in society. Emily Lowe Hall is home to the Emily Lowe Gallery, Lowe Gallery and the music department. Since Lowe was a prominent painter and patron of the arts, the building was named after her. Kate Davidson was a philanthropist and a humanitarian. She was a Long Island civic leader and founder of the Nassau County chapter of the Red Cross. In 1951, the University honored Davidson with a degree of Doctor of Laws for all the work she did for society. It was in 1958 when the University named the anthropology building to honor her.
“A building can be built in honor of someone for a particular field,” professor Solomon said. “But the purpose can change as courses come up.”
Hauser Hall went through a particular change that was mentioned. The building was named after George Hauser who was an engineer and industrialist. He served as a trustee for the University from 1949 until his death in 1958. The University named the then newly built chemistry building in 1955 after him for his dedication, interest and accomplishments in science. As time passes by and more courses were added and the chemistry and physics building was built, the use of the building changed as well.
“I always thought they were just were people who donated money,” Cudina said. “I didn’t really think about it being about someone who actually made an accomplishment.”
A good percentage of University students walk into academic buildings all the time without knowing who the person the building is named after. (Paul Palazzolo/The Chronicle)