The 51 B building will be named for Ruby Cora Webster, the first African American graduate from the State Normal School at St. Cloud.
St. Cloud State’s 51 B building will be renamed for Ruby Cora Webster, a 1909 graduate of the State Normal School at St. Cloud.
Minnesota State Chancellor Devinder Malhotra this week approved the renaming. Plans are now being developed to officially rename the building in fall as part of the university’s Sesquicentennial celebrations.
Webster graduated high school in St. Cloud in 1908 before attending St. Cloud Normal School to study teaching. This, along with her later work as a teacher, was a significant achievement at that time in the history of our region.
“The diversity of our student body is one of our greatest strengths,” said Devinder Malhotra, chancellor of Minnesota State. “So it is entirely fitting that St. Cloud State University should honor and recognize a true pioneer whose accomplishments as a student and teacher are a powerful example for students today. I am very pleased to offer my support to this renaming.”
Webster is the first known African American student to attend St. Cloud State. Webster was born in Delphos, Ohio, in 1889. She was one of the first two alumnae honored by the School of Education’s Hall of Fame in 2016.
— Devinder Malhotra, Minnesota State Chancellor
Professor Christopher Lehman made the proposal to rename 51 B to recognize Webster in December under the university’s newly-implemented Non-Donor Related Naming Policy. The proposal was reviewed by the naming committee and was recommended for approval. Final approval for the renaming was required by Chancellor Malhotra.
The proposal garnered significant support from the community. Prior to submitting his proposal, Lehman collected more than 2,200 signatures in support, and the St. Cloud State Student Government, St. Cloud State Faculty Senate and a number of academic departments, including those that reside in 51 B, adopted resolutions in support of the naming.
The building opened in 1968 as the School of Business and was known by the School of Business name until Herberger Business School moved to Centennial Hall in 2007. It was then renamed 51 B.
It houses the departments of English, Ethnic and Women’s Studies and Political Science as well as the Intensive English Center, the Write Place and the Pipeline Summer Camp Programs.
The State Normal School at St. Cloud was renamed in 1921, 1957 and 1975:
- 1921-1957: St. Cloud State Teachers College
- 1957-1975: St. Cloud State College
- 1975-present: St. Cloud State University
