Windsor Halls

Welcome

The staff and students at Windsor Halls would like to extend a friendly welcome to everyone who visits this site. Windsor Halls includes five buildings: Wood, Shealy, Vawter, Warren and Duhme. Windsor is built on tradition, as it is the oldest women's residence hall on campus, but the halls are enjoying the present as Windsor keeps an eye open to the future. We invite you to visit Windsor Halls and see firsthand what we have to offer. While on campus, visit our Main Office, located in Wood Hall, or call us for more information. We look forward to hearing from you!

Wendy Tommas-Dolick, General Manager
wtd@purdue.edu

Melanie K. Red Elk, Residential Life Manager
mkredelk@purdue.edu

Phillip Andrew, Facilities Manager
prandrew@purdue.edu

Roberta Thomas, Dining Court Manager
rpthomas@purdue.edu

205 North Russell Street
West Lafayette, IN 47906-4238
(765) 494-2612

Windsor History

Windsor is the oldest women's residence at Purdue consisting of five individual buildings that were built over a period of about 20 years. Duhme Hall (originally South Hall) was opened in 1934, Shealy (North Hall) - 1937, Wood - 1939, Warren (D Hall) and Vawter (E Hall) were both opened in 1951. Windsor currently houses 748 women. Tunnels that are accessible to the students connect all of our halls.

Windsor was designed so that nearly every room in each hall would receive sunlight sometime during the day. A unique feature of four out of the five halls is that they line up in a straight line. If one were to open the lobby doors in Duhme, Shealy, Warren, and Vawter, you would be able to shoot an arrow in a straight line through all of them.

Ophelia Duhme Hall was built through the thoughtful generosity of Mrs. Harriet C. Small of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was her desire to promote gracious and purposeful living. Frances M. Shealy Hall was named for one of the three Shealy sisters. The three sisters pledged that the last of the three survivors would give all of their worldly possessions to a university in Indiana for the use of female students. Warren Hall was named for Martha E. Warren and partially funded by her. This Hall was dedicated to the enrichment of student life experiences for the young women attending Purdue University. Vawter Hall was named in recognition of a gift from Wallace and Helen Vawter for Everette B. Vawter, who was a pioneer citizen, friend, and effective public servant of West Lafayette. Will Wood named Wood Hall for Elizabeth Wood, in tribute to his wife. Some of Windsor's history includes famous residents such as Amelia Earhart Putnam, Dr. Lillian Gilbreth, and Janice Voss Ford.

Famous Former Residents

Some of our more well known residents include Amelia Earhart Putnam who lived in Duhme, known for her achievements in aviation; Mrs. Lillian Gilbreth, who is well known for her ability in the field of engineering and industrial management, as well as being the mother of the 12 children featured in "Cheaper By the Dozen." She lived in Wood Hall while on staff as a special advisor to the Schools of Engineering. The most recent "famous" resident was Janice Voss Ford, astronaut, who lived in Duhme Hall.

WRH Crest and Motto

In closing, you can tell, there is much to learn about Windsor Halls. I must say that it has been and continues to be the students who make Windsor the residence that it is. And I think that our WRH crest best exemplifies this. It is the shield, representing protection, with six symbols on it and the WRH motto. The crest bears a woman at the top, a symbol of the halls with leaves around her to represent friendship. A torch for education; an owl for wisdom; an olive branch for peace, a diamond for joy; and three faces at the base representing three types of women the scholar and the party woman, being extremes and the "ideal woman" in the center representing a combination of the two. Windsor's motto, encircling the symbols states: "Together we live, together we learn."