COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Officials at the University of Maryland in College Park say they will name two new residence halls after former students who helped diversify the campus in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Whittle-Johnson Hall will honor two people.
One is Hiram Whittle. In 1951, he was the first Black man to be admitted to the university. The other is Elaine Johnson Coates. In 1959, she became the first Black woman to graduate with an undergraduate degree.
Another building will pay tribute to Pyon Su and Chunjen Constant Chen. It will be called Pyon-Chen Hall.
Pyon served as a diplomat in Korea before moving to the United States. In 1891, he became the first Korean student to receive a degree from the Maryland Agricultural College, which is now the University of Maryland. Chen became the first Chinese student to enroll at the college in 1915.
Both residence halls are scheduled to open during the 2021-2022 school year. They will house 900 first- and second-year students.
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