Walking Tour
Hugh S. Black Building
The Hugh S. Black Building, named for a Spartanburg physician, was the college’s first student residence hall. The Franklin W. Olin Building was designed to enhance faculty-student mentoring by delivering state-of-the-art technology.
You’re starting at the Hugh S. Black Building, named for a Spartanburg physician. The building originally was funded by alumni donations and constructed in 1888 as Alumni Hall. It was the college’s first student residence hall. Before that, students often rented rooms with families in Spartanburg. Later the building became the Wofford Fitting School, a prep school, before becoming the home of the college’s Admission and Financial Aid offices.
The F.W. Olin Foundation turned down the college’s initial request for funding before agreeing to invest $5.5 million to fund the Franklin W. Olin Building as part of the “Campaign for Wofford: An Investment in People.” They changed their mind after the college’s 1988 strategic plan and vision process. The building was designed to enhance faculty-student mentoring by inserting state-of-the-art technology into the relationship. The connections between faculty and students remain a hallmark of the Wofford experience. The Olin Building is home to the college’s modern languages, computer science, mathematics and accounting, business and finance departments.
