Southern University students may have noticed at one point or another that most buildings on campus are named after a person.
However, most may not know the process involved in selecting names for buildings or the story behind the exceptional people for whom they are named.
In most cases, the person is deceased. They must also have ties to the university. Most buildings are named after former faculty members or people who have made substantial financial contributions to the university.
The name is then discussed and approved by the Southern University Board of Supervisors. A building can be named after a living person with the intervention of the Louisiana State Legislature. The only person to have this honor is Isaac Greggs, director of the Southern University Marching Band.
“Each person that has a building named after him or her played a significant role in the existence of Southern University, from the past to the present,” said Angela Proctor, archivist at the John B. Cade Library. “The Clarks, T.T. Allain, P.B.S. Pinchback and others are the reason Southern University exists today. They had the foresight to know that education for African-Americans was important for our race to succeed.”
These are a few of the stories.
Smith-Brown Memorial Union. Denver Smith and Leonard D. Brown were two students slain in a 1972 student demonstration.
John B. Cade Library. Dean John Brother Cade, Sr. was principal of the Southern University Laboratory School and Dean of Southern University from 1939-1961. He is also the founder of the Archives of Black Louisiana History.
J.S. Clark Administration Building. Dr. Joseph Samuel Clark was the founder and first president of Southern University from 1914-1938.
F.G. Clark Activity Center. Dr. Felton Grandison Clark was the second president of Southern University from 1938-1968. He was the son of Dr. Joseph Samuel Clark and Octavia Head Clark.
T.H. Harris Hall. Thomas H. Harris was Superintendent of Public Education in Louisiana from 1908-1940.
T.T. Allain Hall. Theophile T. Allain was a businessman and politician. He was one of the sponsors of the movement for the establishment of Southern in 1880.
E.N. Mayberry Dining Hall. Emma
