B. B. Dougherty Hall was dedicated on May 12, 1968 as the B. B. Dougherty Administration Building. Plans for its construction were already underway when the university's second administration building was destroyed by fire on December 29, 1966. According to the dedication program, the Dougherty Administration Building was constructed with a "State appropriation of $565,000 and furnished with an additional $95,000." Its design honored the first administration building, built on the same site in 1905, by the presence of columns on the south side. A marble plaque, which was once over the front door of the original administration building, was incorporated into the construction.
The building was named after Blanford Barnard Dougherty, co-founder of Appalachian and its first president, serving from its founding until his retirement in 1955.
Sources: The Appalachian (January 12, 1967, May 10, 1968), Appalachian State University Bulletin (1969), Dedication Program (University Archives Ephemera Collection, UA 35), Campus Buildings Timeline
