Wallingford Hall’s popular common room and accompanying tea room has gotten a much-needed facelift, thanks to a $300,000 gift from the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation.

The renovated space, which also serves as the residence’s common area, will be unveiled this weekend as part of Homecoming and Wallingford Hall’s 85^th anniversary.

“We’re extremely proud of Muriel McBrien Kauffman, an alumna who has exemplified extraordinary leadership in her distinguished business career and through her foundation’s deep philanthropic commitment to education, to the arts and to her community,” said Karen McQuigge, director of Alumni Advancement.

Kauffman was a Wallingford resident who graduated from McMaster in 1940. She was a trailblazing example for women in business and public life, who persuaded her husband to found the Kansas City Royals baseball team and was the first woman to be named Mister Baseball by the Baseball Writers of America.

She was also the first woman to receive the William Booth Award from the Salvation Army, and the first woman elected to the board of a big Kansas City bank, the United Missouri Bank of Kansas City. 

She passed away in 1995, but her legacy and her foundation continue to influence the organizations and causes she cared about.

The Foundation’s gift will also support programming through the Women in Leadership Community, based at Wallingford.

Among other things, the program matches current female students with Wallingford alumni in the community.

“Our hope is that Wallingford students leave the program feeling more confident in their unique skills and leadership capabilities,” said Kevin Beatty, director of McMaster’s Housing and Conference Services. “Through group discussion and training and development, students will build a shared understanding of leadership and develop a sense of belonging. We hope that translates into more students involved in the community and in things like student government.”

Wallingford alumni are invited to tour the residence and see the renovated common room and tea room Saturday, Sept. 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. President Patrick Deane will recognize the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation’s gift at a special ceremony scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

Built in 1930, Wallingford Hall is one of the two oldest residence buildings on campus.

Wallingford Hall perpetuates the name of a McMaster University women’s residence of the 1920s, in Toronto. That first Wallingford Hall was provided by William Davies, a philanthropic Baptist businessman, and was named after his birthplace in England.

The Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation has generously supported diverse projects at McMaster that have benefited students for almost 25 years, including support to the McMaster University Museum of Art, the McMaster University Student Centre, the David Braley Athletics Centre and the creation of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Bursaries.