Omaha's Creighton University Names New Dorm Graves Hall, After Alumnus

By Cindy Gonzalez, Nebraska Examiner:

September 30, 2022

OMAHA — Creighton University’s new $37 million student housing project, set to open in fall of 2023, is the first built exclusively for first-year students since the 1960s and the first on campus since 2006.

Creighton officials on Friday announced the name of the 400-student project: Graves Hall.

The namesake is Lee C. Graves, undergraduate of 1980 and law graduate of 1983, who along with his wife, Judy, recently made the lead gift of $12 million, according to a media release.

“Higher education is competitive,” said Graves, founder and CEO of ELM Companies, which provides utility and energy management services. “Creighton needs to have the tools for campus to continue to grow and for the schools to continue to thrive. This new freshman residence hall is going to be a great asset in attracting students.”

Graves Hall, rising near 23rd and Burt Streets, is to be divided mostly into four-person suites. Each suite is to have two bedrooms, two living spaces and a shared bathroom. Each floor is to have kitchenettes and other amenities.

The building also will include a larger kitchen on the second floor for students to share.

“Graves Hall will represent a philosophical shift in how we house our freshman students, with accommodations that allow for both privacy and community,” said the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, Creighton president.

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