DeKALB — NIU will rename two buildings: one in honor of NIU’s 11th president and another in honor of the first Black woman to graduate from NIU.

New Residence Hall will be renamed Fanny Ruth Patterson Complex, and the Campus Life Building will be renamed Peters Campus Life Building. 

Adding “Peters” to the Campus Life Building is in honor of Dr. John Peters, who was NIU president from 2000 to 2013.

The renaming of New Residence Hall was proposed by Housing and Residential Services and was approved June 16 by the Board of Trustees. The new building name commemorates Fanny Ruth Patterson, who in 1915 graduated from what was then known as Northern Illinois State Normal School. 

New Residence Hall opened in 2012. Peters was president of NIU at the time.

NIU will formally celebrate the new names during homecoming events in October.