On May 20, the St. Lawrence University Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution to rename Madill Hall, now to be known on campus as Fox Hall, also the designated home of the Fox Center for Academic Opportunity. This recognition of President William L. Fox ’75 and Lynn Smith Fox honors their steadfast dedication to generations of students and the entire Laurentian community.
“Bill and Lynn have made an incredible impact on thousands of students during their 12 years of faithful service,” said Board of Trustees Chair Michael Ranger ’80, P’17. “The trustees, acting from a sense of deeply felt gratitude, wish to recognize their commitment and devotion to the University’s mission by bestowing the Fox name on a distinguished building, one that is becoming so vital to every student’s positive academic experience at St. Lawrence.”
Madill Hall was originally constructed in 1941 as a multi-purposed gymnasium and auditorium for the old State School of Agriculture (SOA). The building, originally named for Ogdensburg surgeon, Grant Madill, a Regent of the State of New York in the 1930s, became part of St. Lawrence University in 1968, when Canton Agricultural and Technical College moved across town to the State University of New York at Canton campus.
Now made ready for the next chapter as Fox Hall, recent multi-million dollar renovations to the interior of the building were completed in the fall of 2018. Under the aegis of the newly named Fox Center for Academic Opportunity, this modern facility will be central to St. Lawrence’s signature student support and advising programs.
Fox Hall’s campus location among academic, residential, and student life centers allows students convenient access to the offices of the First-Year Program (FYP), Sophomore Success Initiative, Academic Advising, Student Accessibility Services, Career Connections, the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), and the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, as well as peer tutoring, study and student seminar spaces, and state-of-the-art technology.
Major gifts and commitments within The Campaign for Every Laurentian from over 1,500 donors amount to more than $5 million, intended to enhance and endow the Fox Center for Academic Opportunity. St. Lawrence is renowned for its commitment to every student’s unique promise, which the Fox Center will surely strengthen in the years ahead.
“Lynn and I have personally witnessed countless instances of the St. Lawrence liberal arts magic granting its students greater intellectual and social self-confidence than they had ever known before,” says President Fox. “St. Lawrence has a knack for unlocking the splendor within. We lived on campus long enough and traveled to alumni events often enough to see the spectacular results of young Laurentians proving again and again that the world needs St. Lawrence.”
Fox Hall will also continue to be home to the Launders Science Library which supports study and research in the physical and natural sciences, psychology, technology, and the history of science as well as serves as a teaching space for library and general instruction, the Science Writing Center, and the Elberty Spatial Analysis GIS Lab. Launders Science Library also provides all students with access to high-quality scanning equipment, Naturalist Packs, and a variety of study spaces.
A formal dedication of Fox Hall will occur in May 2022 during Commencement weekend.
