Posted by William Nunnelley on 2004-05-18

Samford University will hold a rededication ceremony Friday, May 21, for Robert I. Ingalls, Sr. Hall and Thomas D. Russell Hall, marking the end of an 18-month reconstruction process costing $5.3 million. The program will be in Ward Auditorium of Ingalls Hall at 10 a.m.

Russell Hall, former home of the Department of Biology, was completely demolished inside and reconstructed to provide space for the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and McWhorter School of Pharmacy.

Dedicated in 1957 and named for a longtime Samford trustee who founded the Russell athletic wear company, the building cost $506,222 originally, or approximately $7.2 million at today’s rates. It served as the Biology Department home from its opening until 2002, when Biology moved to Samford’s new Sciencenter.

Russell Hall now houses classrooms and offices for the Mathematics and Computer Science Department and a lecture hall, laboratories, classrooms, offices, conference rooms and seminar rooms for the School of Pharmacy.

Ingalls Hall, the longtime home of McWhorter School of Pharmacy, also has been renovated to include such new or expanded facilities as a faculty research laboratory, teaching laboratories, admissions suite, faculty offices and a faculty/staff commons. Ingalls is located adjacent to Russell.

Ingalls, one of the original buildings on Samford’s Homewood campus, was completed in 1957 at a cost of $524,746, or approximately $7.5 million at current construction rates. It was named for a prominent Birmingham businessman and longtime Samford trustee.

Samford President Thomas E. Corts and Samford Board of Trustees Secretary W. Randall Pittman will speak during the program. McWhorter School of Pharmacy Dean Joseph O. Dean will recognize donors and other guests.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.