Ground was broken for the building on October 12, 1957 and the building was dedicated on January 17, 1959. The classroom building was constructed with a grant of $1,475,000.00 from the F. W. Olin Foundation, which was the largest single gift received by the University to that time.

The initial occupants of the building were the departments of Economics, Educa tion, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, and Sociology. The quarters of the Education Deparment on the first floor included a "specially designed testing seminar", an elementary education workshop, and an audio-visual aids lecture hall. The Coleman theater seated 514; chapel services were held there each Sunday during the college year. In 1961-62, laboratory space was added for the Department of Psychology on the ground floor.

In 1965, the office of the Dean of The College of Business Administration was located on the ground floor. Three hundred and sixteen students ( thirteen percent of the undergraduate student body) were enrolled in this College which included faculty members in accounting, business admninistration, and economics. Of these students, 303 were men and 13 were women.

The building was named in honor of Dr. William H. Coleman, Professor of English, Dean of the College, 1945-56; Vice-President and Secretary, 1956-58; and Vice-President and Dean Emeritus 1958-64. He died in January 1964.