(CNN)The first black female student to attend the University of Alabama has died days after a building on campus was dedicated in her honor, the university said in a statement.
Autherine Lucy Foster, whose last name was Lucy at the time, made history in 1956 when she became the first black student to enroll at the university. She was the first black woman to attend an all-white school or university in the state.
“As we mourn the loss of a legend who embodied love, integrity and a spirit of determination, we are comforted to know that her legacy continues at the University of Alabama and beyond,” said Stuart R. Bell, President of the UA, in a statement.
Bell said Foster “will always be remembered as someone who broke down barriers, reminded us of the respect due to each individual, and lived a life of strength in steadfast service to her students and the community.”
The civil rights activist and education leader was expelled from school after her third day of school after a violent mob surrounded the building that now bears her name. At the time, she took shelter in the School of Education library after university officials helped her escape.
Decades later, Foster enrolled in the university’s College of Education in 1989 and earned her master’s degree in education in 1991.
She had an endowment scholarship named after her by the university, which is awarded annually to a black undergraduate student. A clock tower was dedicated to her in 2010. In 2019, Foster received an honorary doctorate from the University of Alabama.
Last week, Foster attended the dedication of the building that houses the university’s School of Education. Officials originally decided to name the building Lucy-Graves Hall after its first black student and civil rights activist Autherine Lucy Foster and Bibb Graves, a former Alabama governor and Ku Klux Klan leader.
But the University of Alabama system board of trustees voted to name the building only after Foster after a week of backlash from students, faculty and community members.
“If I’m a master teacher, you know what I hope to teach you? That love will take care of everything in our world,” Foster told attendees at the building’s dedication event last week.
“It’s not your color, it’s not how fair you are. It’s how you feel about those you deal with,” she added.
CNN’s Christina Zdanowicz contributed to this report.
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