Historic Places. In April 2001, food service in the dining hall was ended and the dining room made into a generic "recreation room." The dining hall had previously hosted popular barbecue dinners on Friday evenings. In 2006, the Haas School of Business was planning to turn Bowles into an educational center and conference facility, but the university backed down from the decision. At about this time, a group of alumni formed the Bowles Hall Alumni Association, and then the Bowles Hall Foundation, with the aim of establishing Bowles Hall as a modern residential college. In 2014, the Regents of the University of California approved a plan that enabled the Bowles Hall Foundation, a 501c(3) entity, to renovate and operate Bowles Hall as a residential college under a 45-year lease. The Foundation developed a plan to completely renovate and refurnish Bowles Hall. In June 2015, formal agreements with the Regents of the University of California were executed. The restored Hall reopened in August 2016. It serves 188 undergraduate students, three live-in faculty members, and several graduate residents. It is considered on-campus housing for the purposes of financial aid. History In the late 1940s and the 1950s, Rose Gilmore, the widow of a Berkeley professor who was looking for her own calling at Cal, fulfilled the position of Head Resident. Women have been welcomed as residents since 2016. Notable alumni Norman Mineta ('53) - United States Secretary of Transportation (2001–2006) Don Bowden - First American to run four-minute mile Les Richter - Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams Gale Gilbert - Former professional football quarterback Dyke Brown ('36) - Rhodes scholar, founder of the Athenian School Walter A. Haas, Jr ('37) - CEO (1976–2005) and chairman (1981–1989) of Levi Strauss & Co, 1983 Cal Alumnus of the Year Movie appearances Boys and Girls - Known as Carmen Hall in the movie. Bowles Hall drinking song Traditionally the Cal Band parades from nearby Memorial Stadium through the campus and streets of Berkeley after a home football game. The band will play in front of Bowles Hall during their tour, playing "By" for the Bowlesmen. The tradition of playing "By" for Bowles Hall is said to have begun back when the entire football team lived there. The band would play for the players as they walked back to their residence hall after the game. However, when the football team