Newell J. Smith Hall, 35 N. Park St., opens today, welcoming students to its state-of-the-art accommodations, complete with study spaces and classrooms, kitchens on every floor, centrally air-conditioned rooms and a cafAc.
In response to the recent rash of muggings and assaults in the Madison-area, parents of Smith Hall residents need not worry: The residence hall is equipped with security cameras and card-access entryways.
""It's beautiful, it's practical, it's the sort of state-of-the-art thing we've been dreaming about on this campus for a long time, although we never were able to quite convince everybody that it would be worth the tuition,"" said the hall's namesake and 1955-'83 University Housing Director Newell Smith.
Smith Hall can house 425 students who pay an extra $750 over the regular room rate and is the first new residence hall on campus in 41 years.
""It certainly is an honor for me,"" Smith said, who said he was surprised by the university's decision to name the building after him. ""It was not anticipated at all.""
Smith, who entered UW-Madison as a freshman in 1936, said the university was the only place he ever really worked.
""I was called back immediately at the end of the war [in 1945] to help with the critical shortage of housing,"" Smith said. ""And I liked and loved every moment of it. There were some great challenging moments in the '60s and '70s, but it was always very rewarding.""
