The second-floor study area in Gelman Library has been dubbed the George W.G. Stoner Learning Commons to honor a former longtime admissions director.

Stoner, who passed away in 2010 at age 84, was not only GW’s former director of admissions but also a prolific donor who made over 300 contributions to the University, mostly directed toward Gelman Library. He made GW a beneficiary of his estate when he died, giving $1.8 million to GW’s Librarian Discretionary Fund.

The naming comes a year after GW opened the learning commons to students following a $16 million renovation project.

After many alumni had met Stoner as they prepared to start attending classes at GW, Dean of Student Affairs Peter Konwerski said naming such a central location on campus after Stoner was appropriate.

“As the man who signed all of our admissions letters for more than 30 years, that letter and his very signature symbolized the official start of the GW experience for generations of new students,” Konwerski said in a release. “It’s most fitting that a space serving current and future GW students on a daily basis should bear his name.”