Friedrick Hall/Phillips Hall

1950 Willow Dr.
Aug 2011 UW-Madison officials announced they are renaming a dorm after Vel Phillips, a civil rights pioneer. It will be only the second campus building named after a person of color and one of only a handful honoring women.

The newly-dubbed Phillips Hall was formerly Friedrick Hall. Friedrick Hall was run by UW-Extension as a conference center until 2008 when it was converted to a dorm.

Phillips was the first African-American woman to graduate from the UW Law School in 1951. She was the first female judge in Milwaukee County and the first African-American judge in Wisconsin.

In 1978, she became the first woman and first African-American to hold statewide office when she became secretary of state.

The houses and lounge areas within the hall are also being renamed to honor women with ties to the UW who have made a positive impact on the university, politics, the women's movement, and civil rights:
Ruth Bleier
Kathryn F. "Kay" Clarenbach
Belle Case La Follette
Gerda Lerner
Nellie McKay