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CORVALLIS - The NAACP will give Oregon State University a commendation this Wednesday during the dedication of its new residence to recognize OSU's decision to name the hall after one of its first African American graduates, Carrie Halsell.

The dedication ceremony will begin at noon in the courtyard area in back of Halsell Hall, located near Bloss and Finley Halls east of Gill Coliseum. The event is free and open to the public.

Representatives of the Corvallis branch of the NAACP and the NAACP Alaska, Oregon and Washington State Conference will present OSU with the commendation during the dedication ceremony.

Halsell Hall, which opened this fall, is a four-story, L-shaped facility that houses about 210 students in suites and apartment-like rooms. It has a "Community Service Learning" theme - a concept that promotes responsible citizenry and integrates experiential, hands-on learning with a student's academic and social experience.

The process for naming the new student residence hall began more than a year ago, and residence hall students supported naming the hall after a notable student - someone considered a "trailblazer" who had to overcome the odds to get an OSU education and then used that education to help others.

OSU officials believe Halsell was the first African-American student to be awarded an undergraduate degree from the school - a B.S. in commerce in 1926 from what was then Oregon Agricultural College. Halsell earlier had graduated from Salem High School in 1921.

Among the guests expected to attend the dedication are Halsell's niece and other family members who live in Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas.

In addition, representatives from the Portland Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, of which Halsell was a charter member at Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute in 1929, will be in attendance.

Guided tours of the residence will take place directly following the dedication.