Scott Wilson

Bob Sayles, a UC Berkeley alumnus who helped lead the restoration of the campus’s Bowles Hall residential unit, died May 14 after a brief illness, according to a campus press release. Sayles was 85.

Bowles Hall reopened this year as a privately-operated, coed residential college, culminating an 11-year effort to revitalize the stately manor that has further stratified the array of housing options available to UC Berkeley undergraduates.

Back by popular demand, Bowles Hall— the nation’s first residential college— is set to reopen in August following extensive efforts made by alumni, faculty, and students.