Family and friends of DeNorval Unthank Jr. joined UO President Michael H. Schill Tuesday to celebrate the naming of Unthank Hall.

The campus residence hall, part of the Hamilton Complex, honors the first African-American graduate of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, now known as the College of Design.

Unthank was a longtime advocate for Oregon’s black community and a respected alumnus who remained deeply connected to the university over the course of his life. His name now graces the former Cedar Hall.

Unthank Hall was once known as Dunn Hall but was recently renamed, following extensive discussion and deliberation led by Schill. A group of students asked that the name Dunn, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, be removed.