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Editor's note: This is part of a 20-story series titled "What's in a name?" completed by Pioneer reporters for our 2022 Annual Report. Read more of the section by clicking the embed at the bottom of this article.

When Jim Bensen was at the helm of Bemidji State University, he presided over two ceremonies that named campus buildings for former school presidents.

Both happened on the same day, no less.

The first ceremony, in May 1995, christened the BSU recreation center in honor of Lowell 鈥淭ed鈥� Gillett. The second named the former Hickory Hall building for Robert D. Decker.

鈥淲e did Ted鈥檚 first, then went over to the other one,鈥� Bensen said. 鈥淚 said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e doing two today, so this is called a double Decker.鈥欌��

Some years later, in 2012, Bensen was on the receiving end of a similar ceremony when the BSU Education Arts Building was renamed Bensen Hall.

鈥淲hen I retired I wasn鈥檛 even thinking about that,鈥� Bensen said. 鈥淚 was off charging on lots of other stuff. One day (former BSU President) Dick Hanson said 鈥榞et ready for something. We鈥檙e going to name a building after you. But you鈥檝e got to approve it.鈥� I said I better go home and talk to my wife.鈥�

Bensen said he attended classes in that building when he was a student at Bemidji State and his brother, Kermit, taught in the same building when it housed the Lab 歪歪漫画.

Pioneer file photo

鈥淚f there was one building that meant the most to me, that would be the one,鈥� he said.

Bensen also was honored when the conference room in the Mayflower Building was named in his honor two years ago. He had served on the board of Greater Bemidji Economic Development (formerly the Joint Economic Development Commission) for 25 years.

鈥淭hat one that caught me most off guard,鈥� Bensen said. 鈥淭hat really surprised the pants off me.鈥�

Besides Bensen, Gillett and Decker, several other buildings on campus have been named for former presidents.

The first was Deputy Hall, named in honor of the school鈥檚 first president, Manfred Deputy. Other buildings bear the names of presidents C.R. Sattgast and Harry Bangsberg. Acting presidents John Glas and A.C. Clark also have buildings named after them.

Other buildings have been named after former faculty members like Harold Hagg and Phil Sauer.

鈥淭here aren鈥檛 a lot more buildings to be named,鈥� Bensen said. 鈥淚鈥檓 kind of glad they put tree names on the dorms (like Tamarack, Oak, Pine and Linden), because if something came at some point where they wanted to remove 鈥極ak鈥� and put somebody鈥檚 name on it, that could happen.鈥�