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To the many faculty, staff and students on campus, the names on the buildings simply are a way to know which building is which. However, there are stories behind every name - the stories of the men and women for whom the buildings are named. Each building honors a notable Rutgers person or member of the Newark community.
 Ackerson Hall
After retiring from the New Jersey Supreme Court, Henry E. Ackerson became active within the Rutgers community and even spearheaded the fundraising efforts for a new law center. Born in October 1880 in Holmdel, N.J., Ackerson graduated from the New York University Law School in 1902. From 1914 to 1919, he was a state senator, and from 1945-52 he sat on the state Supreme Court, retiring at the age of 72. The following year he became a Rutgers trustee and was chairman of the law school committee for 15 years. He served Rutgers until 1970.
 Aidekman Research Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience
The Aidekman Research center is named in honor of Shirley and Alex Aidekman of Short Hills, who made a generous contribution to support construction of the neuroscience research center at Rutgers-Newark. Two members of the Aidekman family suffered from Parkinson's disease, a neurological disease believed to cause deteioration of the brain. Alex Aidekman, who died in December 1990, founded Supermarkets General, one of the largest retail food and drug enterprises in the nation, operating the Pathmark supermarkets, Pathmark Drugstores and Rickel Home Centers. Shirley Aidekman, a trustee of the Aidekman Foundation, is an artist and president of Amio, Inc., a jewelry manufacturing and design company.
 Blumenthal Hall
Dr. Henry Blumenthal was a noted historian on Franco-American relations. Born in Germany in 1911, he earned an AB in 1933 from the University of Berlin, and then attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned an MA degree in 1943 and a Ph.D. in 1949. During World War II Blumenthal served as a combat infantryman. He came to Rutgers in 1949 as a history instructor, and was named director of the NCAS division of social sciences in 1963. He was a dean at Rutgers-Newark from 1969-1971.
In 1960, Blumenthal was the first recipient of the NCAS "Outstanding Teacher of the Year" award. In 1979, he became the first Rutgers-Newark recipient of the Rutgers University Award, a medal given for distinguished service to the University through leadership and scholarly achievement.
 Boyden Hall
The site of many biology labs and classrooms was named in honor of Seth Boyden, the man Thomas Edison described as "one of America's greatest inventors." Born in Massachusetts in 1788, he established the first factory in America for the production of "patent" leather in 1819, and discovered the process for producing malleable cast iron in 1826, as well as a method for producing zinc from ore. He also invented a nail-making machine, built his own steamboat, and is credited with having invented a cut-off switch for steam engines. After 1837, Boyden the industrialist built locomotives and stationary steam engines. So prolific an inventor was Boyden that shortly before his death in 1870, he told friends that he had enough experiments on hand to last two whole lifetimes.
The economic impact of Boyden’s discoveries are credited with propelling early Newark to industrial greatness; by 1870, Newark's gross receipts from leather manufacture were $8.7 million. When a Boyden statue was dedicated in Washington Park in 1890, one speaker declared, “As the early settlers of Newark may be said to have laid its physical and moral foundation, Seth Boyden may be said to have laid the foundation of its material prosperity.”
But Boyden did not profit from his inventions, for he never patented them, preferring instead to take individual contracts and to build and sell off businesses.
Even in death, his ties to Newark remain: Seth Boyden is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
 Bradley Hall
Home to the art and television classes, a theater, post office branch and bookstore, Bradley Hall was named for the man whose lone vote determined a Presidential election in 1876. Joseph P. Bradley graduated from Rutgers College in 1836 and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1839. This patent, commercial and corporation lawyer ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1862, but he was, however appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1870 by President Grant. In 1877, Bradley was appointed to the Electoral Commission established by Congress to resolve the disputed 1876 election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden. His vote for Hayes determined the outcome. Formerly part of a Prudential Insurance Company printing plant and distribution center, Bradley Hall was acquired by the university in 1971.
 Conklin Hall
Franklin Conklin Jr. was the first president of the board of Rutgers-Newark's predecessor, the University of Newark. Conklin was also a well-known civic leader in Newark.
He attended Princeton from 1903-04 and later headed the Flood and Conklin Manufacturing Co. He was also a member and past president of the Essex County Park Commission, past president of The Newark Museum (1943-64). He was founder and first president of the board of Newark University.
 John Cotton Dana Library
The library, where students spend a majority of their study time, is named for John Cotton Dana, a pioneering figure in the development of public libraries and museums in this country. Dana was a graduate of Dartmouth College and practiced law and civil engineering for a decade before joining the Denver, Colorado, library. In 1898, Dana was appointed librarian at the Public Library of Newark and in 1902 he helped to found The Newark Museum Association. Under Dana's direction, the Newark Library became the first in the nation to offer open stacks, as well as a branch devoted to business. The John Cotton Dana Library was erected in 1967.
 Engelhard Hall
Charles W. Engelhard, a millionaire industrialist, was chairman and principal owner of Engelhard Minerals and Chemicals Corporation, a worldwide industrial and marketing organization. However, he was also active in the Newark community, serving as president of The Newark Museum from 1964-70, eventually becoming the chairman of the Board of Trustees, as well as serving as president of the Greater Newark Development Council. He was also a generous donor to Rutgers, donating over $1.25 million.
 Hill Hall
Hill Hall was named in honor of Bessie Nelms Hill, a civil rights activist and the first African American to serve on the Rutgers Board of Governors. Hill graduated from Howard University and received a masters degree in personnel and guidance from Columbia University's Teachers College, as well a masters degree in human relations from New York University. She was a teacher and guidance counselor for over 40 years in Trenton. After her retirement, she was named to the Rutgers Board of Governors by Governor Richard J. Hughes in 1965. The Hall was rededicated
in her honor in October 2004. (See Press Release for more details.)
Hill was also active in the community, founding the Montgomery Street YMCA, The Carver School YMCA (both in Trenton), and the Trenton Visiting Nurses Association. In 1950, she was named Woman of the Year of the National Business and Professional Women's Club of New Jersey, and member of the Board of Directors of the Urban League of Essex County.
In addition, Hill served as state secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
 Olson Hall
Carl A. Olson was born September 29, 1891 in New York. He was a professor of chemistry at the Newark Institute of Arts and Sciences, which became part of the University of Newark. When the school was incorporated into Rutgers University in 1946, he became its first professor of chemistry and taught until 1957. He was a retired emeritus professor of chemistry and sat on the schools Board of Trustees, as well.
 Paul Robeson Campus Center
Rutgers University's most distinguished alumnus was born April 9, 1898, at Princeton. Paul Bustill Robeson was a man of many talents: scholar, actor, lawyer, singer and athlete. He received world acclaim for performances in Othello, The Emperor Jones, Show Boat and many others. Robeson was the first black football player at Rutgers and a two time All-American. But, even more than that, Robeson was a leader in the movement against racial discrimination. Robeson was the first black man to be valedictorian of his graduating class. He was also the recipient of numerous honors throughout his life, including the Springarn Medal of the NAACP, the Stalin Peace Prize in 1952, which also (1958), the Abraham Lincoln Medal, the Donaldson Award for "the best acting performance in 1944" and the 1944 Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Robeson also was named an honorary professor at the Moscow Conservatory of Music.
 Smith Hall
The building where many students study the sciences was named for former Rutgers trustee Frederic W. Smith. The Newark native was born in 1880. He was a member of the New Jersey Bar, director of the Maplewood Bank and Trust Company, president of the National Council of YMCA's and president of the Newark Welfare Federation. Smith was an Alumni Trustee at Rutgers University from 1938-43. Smith Hall was built in 1968.
 Stonsby Commons
The first dean of the College of Nursing loaned her name to the 225-seat dining hall adjacent to Woodward Hall. Ella V. Stonsby joined the faculty of the Newark College of Arts and Sciences in 1946. In 1952, she established the Division of Nursing Education, which offered the associate in science degree, a four year generic B.S. in nursing, a B.S. for registered professional nurses, and a pre-clinical program for diploma nurse students. A year later, the division became the School of Nursing. In 1956, the school became the 15th college to be established as an independent unit of Rutgers.
 Talbott Apartments
One of the guiding forces behind University Heights is the inspiration for Talbot Apartments, the first residence hall on campus. Malcolm Talbott, who was vice president of Rutgers from 1963-74, is largely credited with the modern development of the Newark campus. In the period that followed the 1967 riots in Newark, Talbott pushed for inter-institutional cooperation. He was a dominant figure in forming the urban university center now known as University Heights, a center that includes Rutgers, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Essex County College and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
 Woodward Hall
The second of two residence halls on the Rutgers-Newark campus is named for an academician who pre-dates Rutgers-Newark. Herbert P. Woodward, a specialist in Appalachian geology, was appointed in 1928 to the pre-legal department of the New Jersey Law School, one of the schools that evolved into the University of Newark. In 1936, he was named director of the Division of Natural Sciences at the University of Newark, and, in 1942, he became acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He assumed the deanship of the Newark College of Arts and Sciences in 1946, when the University of Newark merged with Rutgers.
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