William Henry Tebeau (November 23, 1925 – July 5, 2013) in 1948 became the first African-American man to graduate from Oregon State College.

[1][2] He found a job at a fraternity house tending the furnace, in exchange for a room in the basement.

[3][4] Tebeau earned his civil engineering license and joined the Oregon State Highway Department, where he worked for 36 years.

[2] He also taught at Chemeketa Community College, where he was named 1970 Teacher of the Year.

[2] In May 2014, Oregon State University announced that its new residence hall east of the Kerr Administration Building on Washington Way would be named after Tebeau, the first African-American male to earn a degree from the university.