<rial Hall, one of Carleton’s newest Residential Halls, is being renamed Ardis and Robert James Hall nearly three years after the building opened in order to honor the James family’s contributions to the school.
The renaming ceremony will be held during the Board of Trustee’s meeting on October 25-27.
“It is due to the foresight of Mr. Cassat that the renaming is even possible,” said Vice President Don Hasseltine.
George Cassat ’46 and his late wife Patricia Donnell Cassat ’46 gave much of the gift that helped to build both Cassat and Memorial Halls. Though they serve as the namesakes of Cassat Hall, they agreed to relinquish the naming rights to Memorial to another donor who provided a leadership gift to the school.
The Tuesday Group, an assembly of the senior administrators on the President’s staff, chose to honor the James family in this way last fall.
“Ardis and Robert James were selected due to their generous and significant gifts to the college over the last decade” said Hasseltine.
Robert and his late wife have also made generous donations to numerous other non-profits and educational institutions through the Robert and Ardis James Foundation.
One of the couple’s most notable gifts was the donation of their quilt collection to the International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska Their contribution made it the largest public quilt collection in the world.
The renaming also honors Cathy James Paglia, a daughter of Ardis and Robert and an alumna of Carleton who has served on the Board of Trustees since 1984. In 2010, she worked on the Steering Committee for the “Breaking Barriers, Creating Connections” fundraising campaign.
“Her leadership and commitment to the college in various ways is a big part of it,” says Hasseltine, “Carleton honors time, talent and treasure, and Cathy has given those in a way very few people have.”
Because of the school’s belief in the importance of a residential community as part of the liberal arts experience, having one’s name on a residence hall is a great honor.
“Finding a way to honor generous donors often happens through buildings” says Hasseltine. “It is a way for the lasting legacy to with the college to live on.”