Southwestern University Announces Names of Two New Residence Halls

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Southwestern University Announces Names of Two New Residence Halls

Southwestern University’s two newest residence halls have officially been named. The new first-year residence hall will honor 1902 graduate and nationally prominent civil rights activist Jessie Daniel Ames, while the new second-year residence hall will bear the name of beloved Aramark/Pirate Dining employee Ella Sedwick.

Jessie Daniel AmesLocated on the eastern edge of campus, adjacent to the new Dorothy Perry White Welcome Center, the first-year residence hall will formally be known as Jessie Daniel Ames Hall. Ames, a 1902 graduate and women’s suffrage and anti-lynching activist, founded the Association of Southern Women to Prevent Lynching in 1930. As an early female business owner in Georgetown, she also helped create the Georgetown Women’s Club and co-ran the Georgetown phone company.

This will be the first physical space on campus named after Ames, although the Women’s Studies and Feminist Studies Programs have hosted the Jessie Daniel Ames Lecture Series in her honor since the 1980s.

Ella SedwickThe new second-year residence hall, centrally located next to the McCombs Campus Center, will be named Ella Sedwick Hall. The location holds special meaning as the McCombs Campus Center is home to “Ms. Ella,” as she is affectionately known. She has greeted and supported generations of Southwestern students for more than 25 years through her work with Aramark and Sodexo in the Mabee Commons Dining Hall.

The personal connections Ms. Ella nurtures have significantly impacted the college experience of countless students, faculty, staff, and visitors, fostering an atmosphere of inclusion and belonging through her genuine care and interest.

The naming process was led by the Commemorative Landscape Task Force. The group includes students, staff, faculty, alumni, and trustees. The Task Force was established to support an ongoing institutional reflection on how the University commemorates individuals in campus spaces, ensuring that those recognitions align with institutional values.

For this effort, the Task Force identified 17 potential honorees who have made meaningful, and in some cases, overlooked contributions to Southwestern’s history. The names surfaced through faculty-student research collaborations and earlier community engagement tied to naming discussions within the SU 560 development.

The Task Force then invited community engagement through a survey to current students, faculty, staff, the Board of Trustees, the Board of Visitors, and the Alumni Council. Survey participants were also encouraged to suggest additional names. Jessie Daniel Ames and Ella Sedwick emerged as two of the most supported honorees across these groups.

Following the survey period, the Task Force reviewed all feedback, evaluated alignment with institutional values, and submitted recommendations to the Board of Trustees, which formally approved the names on Friday, November 7.

Both Jessie Daniel Ames Hall and Ella Sedwick Hall are on track to be completed by late December 2025 before welcoming students for the Spring 2026 semester.

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