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From Left to Right: 1)Your Staff! 2)Flash from the Past! 3)Coming Soon! 4)Coming Soon!

Ormsby Hall was the first residence hall constructed on the campus. It joined two other buildings, Main Hall and the President's residence in the fall of 1889. According to Marguerite Schumann, President Elias DeWitt Huntley wrote "Give us a Ladies' Building and you will hear no more about lawlessness at Lawrence," but it was his successor, Bradford Paul Raymond, who brought the idea of a women’s residence hall to fruition. Prior to the completion of Ormsby, all students, male and female, lived in town with families and College officials could not monitor student behavior as they wanted.

Built at a cost of $30,000, Ormsby Hall provided rooms for sixty young women, the preceptress, and the first assistant lady teacher. It included a music room that also doubled as a prayer meeting room, a music practice room, a gymnasium, and rooms for the women's literary societies. The basement provided a dining area that seated sixty; it served meals to all Lawrence students until Colman Hall was completed in 1956.

David Green Ormsby, a Milwaukee businessman engaged in lime kiln and brass and iron production and Board of Trustees member, contributed stock valued at $12,000 toward the construction of the new hall. Constructed of brick and stone, it had indoor plumbing, steam heat and gas lighting. Electric lighting was installed in 1895. A large porch appears on the building in photographs from the nineteen-teens through the nineteen-fifties. This porch may have been added in 1906 when the building received a $14,000 addition that provided rooms for fifty more women. At the same time, the women's' literary societies moved to the new Carnegie Library, vacating space on the top floor for more student rooms.

In 1972, Lawrence received a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant of $561,000 to renovate Ormsby. This renovation brought mechanical, electrical and heating systems up to code and added some lounge space. A University press release remarked that "because students expressed a preference for retention of the residence hall’s old furnishings, the old desks, beds and other furnishings will be retained in the renovated building."

Today, Ormsby Hall provides housing for 120 students.

Student Staff

The fabulous Ormsby RLAs work hard to create a positive and vibrant community where our students can establish great friendships and feel at home.

Click here to find out more!

Professional Staff

Each residence hall is staffed with a Residence Hall Director whose responsibility is to oversee the operation of the hall and all programs connected with a specific hall.

Click here to find out more about the current RHD's!

Hall Council!

Hall Council is a representative group of students, with elected officers open to all residents of a community.  They strive to support the mission of residence life, take action to improve the quality of life and foster community ownership and pride.  Hall Council hears the concerns of residents and works to address those concerns by utilizing community resources to plan activities and purchase items, promote community respect and accountability, and establish clear and consistent communication among appropriate members of the Lawrence community.  As a result Hall Council empowers residents to stay informed about and invested in the development of their community and serves as a leadership opportunity for students.

In past years we have made Hall T-shirts, eaten gallons of ice cream at Baskin Robbins or Coldstone Lock-Ins, kept nourished with Finals Food, releived stress by Lazer Tag, practiced our coordination with All-Hall Bowling, organized Zoo Days, purchased DVDs for the Hall, played fifty hours of TRIVA straight and much, much more! To get involved, please contact you current Residence Hall Director or Residence Life Advisor!