While we previously explored the names of Old Dorms and the Brandon Avenue apartments, UVA’s endless construction means there is plenty more research to be done. But for now, we will be taking a look at the namesakes of all thirteen New Dorms buildings – the largest group of named apartments at UVA. While a basic list and description can be found on UVA’s website, this article will seek to provide new information and shed more light on the pasts of these storied buildings.
A namesake many have asked about is Albert George Balz, who obtained his undergraduate degree at UVA and a PhD at Columbia. He would teach here at UVA for much of his life, becoming a prominent member of the Philosophy department. Not only did Balz reach many high-level positions- including the Department Chair of Philosophy, he also had a legacy of service. In 1918, during the First World War and early in his UVA professor career, he obtained a high rank in the Student Army Training Corps, established at many Universities to prepare students for military service after graduation. He would also donate to assist students monetarily through the Alumni Fund- creating the Balz Fund. An excellent summary of his life and works (including his many publications) can be found on the Philosophy Documentation Center’s website.
Armistead Dobie was a dedicated student, earning three levels of degrees from the University of Virginia. After graduating, he would become a law professor at UVA in 1909, taking a break to serve in the US Army during the First World War, then studying at Harvard and Columbia before returning to UVA in 1922. Dobie would eventually take William Lile’s position of Law School Dean, before becoming a judge in the Western District of Virginia, and eventually in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. His time on the bench was complicated, ruling in favor of racial equality at times, but also deciding in favor of upholding segregation. He would eventually die in 1962. His time on the bench is covered by the Encyclopedia Virginia, while his broader life story is recounted by the School of Law.
Irby Cauthen was (of course) a professor at UVA who would later be buried in the UVA cemetery like many other dorm namesakes. Almost no information can be found about his life, but he was a UVA professor emeritus of English, as well as a dean. He passed away in 1994, while Betty Cauthen, his wife– a teacher and active UVA trustee- lived until 2020, making the couple a more recent member of the University community compared to most other dormitory namesakes. Some information about Cauthen can be found on Betty Cauthen’s UVA Magazine memorial, and on the Find a Grave website.
William Gibbons and Isabella Gibbons were both enslaved laborers at the University of Virginia in the 1850s and early 1860s. Despite the brutal and racist treatment they suffered, both defied their status and suppression by learning to read and write, allegedly by eavesdropping on conversations- a method William also used to learn about academic subjects at the University. At this time, the teaching of enslaved persons was illegal, making their literacy an especially significant accomplishment. They married one another while enslaved at the University. After Abolition, William would become a minister and pastor, while Isabella would teach in Charlottesville. Gibbons Dormitory was named to honor both of their legacies. Isabella’s life story has been told by the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, and Cvillepedia has a lengthy and fascinating article on William Gibbons.
Robert Kellogg would graduate from the University of Maryland and Harvard University with a degree in English. He would eventually come to teach at the University of Virginia for four decades, becoming chair of the English department and a dean. An expert in medieval English literature and Icelandic literature, his passion for the written word comes through in every remembrance written about him. He was a recent professor, as well, having been active in the University even into the 1990s. A moving tribute to his life can be found on JSTOR.
Perhaps one of the most deserving of having now two named buildings, Edgar Shannon was a pivotal figure in UVA history. He served in the US Navy during the Second World War and briefly taught as an associate professor of English at the University. He would become the president of UVA in 1959- a post he held until 1974. He oversaw the construction of many new buildings, and led UVA’s response to the Vietnam War. Despite the turmoil of the Vietnam era across the United States, Shannon’s anti-war position and wise leadership kept Grounds relatively calm. However, his most permanent legacy was the full inclusion of women at UVA. President Shannon’s progressive and forward-thinking vision helped shape UVA into the university it is today, and his legacy extends far beyond a building’s name. The Washington Post and UVA’s website have excellent and detailed descriptions of his life and accomplishments.
William Lile presided over a remarkable period of change at UVA’s law school. During his tenure as dean, he founded and helped multiple law journals, while expanding admittance requirements. He also increased the time it would take to obtain a law school degree- improving the qualifications of graduates- and would ultimately permit the admittance of women in 1921. More about his life can be found on the School of Law’s website.
Possessing a remarkable first name, Socrates Maupin was the Chairman of Faculty at UVA during the Civil War. While he collaborated with the Confederate government, after the conclusion of the war he signed a Loyalty Oath to the United States and worked to save the University from terminal decline. Depopulated and desolate, UVA was nursed back to health, with the help of his leadership and his recruitment of new talent- he himself footed part of the financial burden of this task personally. The Law Library’s Special Collections has a detailed write-up of his term at the University.
Unlike most of his contemporaries at UVA, Albert Tuttle was a Union soldier during the Civil War, though only serving as a prison guard and not participating in combat. After studying at Harvard, he would specialize in biology and zoology, coming to the University to serve as a professor in 1888. However, despite his Union service, he would come to (at least to an extent) sympathize with the Confederacy. Like many on this list, he too is buried at UVA. The Nau Center has an excellent piece on his life and personal ties to the Lost Cause movement.
Unlike all of the other names on this list, Francis Dunnington is a nearly complete enigma. The only information about his life can be found on UVA’s own dorm name origin list here. According to this article, he received three degrees at UVA before becoming an analytical chemistry professor. He was also likely at the Rotunda fire in 1895.
Thomas Watson graduated from the Virginia Polytechnic University (which would ultimately be renamed into a modern form familiar to all UVA students), and would become a doctor at Cornell. He went on to teach geology at Denison, then Virginia Tech, and finally at UVA. Science has an archived article on his life.
A renowned Classical scholar, Robert Webb was a professor of Greek at UVA. He translated multiple plays by the legendary playwright Aristophanes, and supported local music festivals. Rutgers University has a description of his life on their database.
A professor of Spanish and French, Thaddeus Braxton Woody was first a student at UVA in 1919, before becoming a decades-long professor. During his lengthy and storied career, he would also become a driving force towards coeducation, working with President Shannon on the issue in the 1960s. More humorously, one of the few mentions of his name includes his vehement opposition to the slow death of formal attire on Grounds. Much of the information in this section is based on a UVA Magazine Letter to the Editor by his son, James B. Woody.
Despite the more storied pasts of Old Dorms namesakes- and the more recent impacts of the Brandon Avenue block, those of the New Dorms also have fascinating and deeply impactful histories, despite having often been forgotten by the student body. However, their stories live on in the diversity of UVA today, the historical stains in UVA’s past, and even in the University’s very existence in the modern day.
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