For first time, Manhattan names building for a woman

Manhattan College’s East Hill Hall has a new name. 

On Sept. 18, the college announced it has changed the name of its newest residence to Lee Hall in honor of Margaret Lee O’Malley, the mother of Thomas O’Malley, the former chairman of Manhattan’s board of trustees. It is the first building on campus named after a woman. 

 “The O’Malleys’ extraordinary generosity is a major source of our strength as an institution,” Manhattan College President Brennan O’Donnell said in a statement. “We are proud that Lee Hall will stand as a tribute to a woman who was such a source of strength for her family.”

A daughter of Irish immigrants, Ms. Lee O’Malley grew up during the Great Depression, raising two young sons along with her husband while working as a nurse. 

She encouraged her son Thomas to attend Manhattan College, where he graduated in 1963. 

The college noted the building naming is a tribute to the many women who have shaped it over the years. A plaque hangs in the entrance of the residence hall in Ms. Lee O’Malley’s memory. 

Mr. O’Malley, who received a doctor of humane letters at the college’s 2012 spring commencement, said his mother would be honored by the renaming. 

“If my mom were here today, her greatest pleasure would not be in the naming of the building but rather that her daughters in-law, her granddaughters, her great-granddaughters and indeed all the women who attended Manhattan College can advance as far as their talents take them — particularly here at Manhattan where they can be recognized by this great college for what they accomplish,” he said in a statement.