North Dakota State’s newest building is to be named after former professor and mathematics department chair A. Glenn Hill.

The N.D. Board of Higher Education approved the decision to rename the STEM building to the A. Glenn Hill Center at its meeting Tuesday.

NDSU requested the name change for the building after receiving a “substantial gift” from a patron who wanted to honor the former mathematics professor, Laura McDaniel, associate vice president for university relations, said via listserv email.

Under Hill’s leadership, the department of mathematics grew from six full-time members in 1943 to 20 faculty and eight graduate assistants in 1961, while the number of students tripled and the number of higher-level courses was expanded, McDaniel said.

Hill developed an accelerated program for the department and also co-authored three mathematics books that were widely used at the time, the listserv continued.

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Service Award by Blue Key in 1948, and in 1960 was selected to give the university’s Faculty Lecture, a high honor bestowed by his peers. He led or participated in numerous other campus and community groups.

Hill was born in Erie, N.D., to a family dedicated to college education. He was a country school master before entering NDSU and earning his bachelor’s degree in 1927. He took a leave of absence from teaching at NDSU to earn his master of science degree at the University of Wisconsin in 1931.

Hill spent 39 years at NDSU.

McDaniel said in a listserv Hill had offers to move on to bright lights in big cities, but always declined because he liked NDSU and its community and surroundings more.

NDSU will formally dedicate the new name during homecoming activities later this fall, McDaniel said.