John E. Boswell Hall (Formerly Morton Hall), Constructed 1970-1972
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On April 23, 2021, the William & Mary Board of Visitors approved the renaming of Morton Hall to "John E. Boswell Hall to commemorate John E. Boswell ’69, who was an LGBTQ+ advocate and scholar at the College. Boswell was a professor at Yale University and founded its Lesbian and Gay Studies Center in 1987. His scholarship in history changed the field’s conception of sexuality in pre-modern Europe." (See Flat Hat 4/23/2021)
Boswell Hall is located at the intersection of Ukrop Way and Jamestown Road, southeast of Jones Hall. Boswell Hall currently houses academic offices on campus, including Africana Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Classical Studies, Economics, Gender Sexuality and Women's Studies, Global Studies, Government, International Relations, Sociology, and the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy. The building opened opened for use in 1972 and housed the Marshall-Wythe Institute, the John Marshall Papers, and the Departments of History, Sociology, Government, and Economics. Since its construction there have been numerous renovations to help maintain it.
Boswell Hall was originally dedicated in December 1973 as Richard Lee Morton Hall to honor the long-time William & Mary professor and historian. "The renaming is the culmination of the work of student activists and the Principles of Naming & Renaming Working Group, which reviewed all structures at the College known to be associated with the Confederacy, the Jim Crow era and slavery."
