The Director's Suite was named in honor of Ruth Hall, and her daughter Karen Whitehouse Hall. Karen Whitehouse Hall named the Director's Suite in honor of her mother Ruth Hall. The Ruth Hall Director's Office and the Karen E. Whitehouse Hall Seminar Room will provide the School an excellent space in which to conduct administrative planning sessions and graduate-level seminars.

In 1956, Dr. Ruth C. Hall assumed the directorship of what was then known as the School of Home Economics. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful period of leadership, as Dr. Hall saw the school through all the changes of the next two decades. During those years, she earned a reputation as a popular teacher, a strong and fair administrator, and an outspoken advocate for her field (for more information about Dr. Hall, click Legacy Leaders).

Karen Whitehouse Hall, class of 1965, holds a BS in Home Economics Education from the University of Arizona, and also graduated from Colorado State University in 1970 with an M. HE in Consumer Science and Housing. She worked for the Vancouver Health Department and for Health and Welfare Canada. She also worked for the Sate Nutrition Department in New Mexico and later for the Los Alamos National Laboratory as the Director and founder of the Wellness Center, serving in this position until 1995.

Karen’s only son Brice is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University.