A new residence hall on the university's Urbana-Champaign campus will be named for Maudelle Tanner Brown Bousfield.
(Photo: Courtesy of University of Illinois)
The University of Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus is naming its new six-story residence hall after the school's first African-American female graduate, Maudelle Tanner Brown Bousfield.
On Thursday, the school’s board announced the hall would be named for Bousfield, who was the only black woman on campus between 1903 and 1905.
“Maudelle Tanner Brown Bousfield stands first in many distinguished categories as both a student and educator, and the naming of this residence hall recognizes her accomplishments and will stand as an inspiration for students,” the university writes in a statement.
The dorm will open in fall 2013 and house 485 students, according to the Associated Press.
Bousfield graduated from the university with honors in 1906. She went on to teach math in high schools in Baltimore, St. Louis and Chicago. In 1928, she became the first black principal in a Chicago public school.
Bousfield retired in 1950 and passed away in 1971.
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