Bellmon died Sept. 29. He was 88.

The Interdisciplinary Science Research Building will be renamed the Henry Bellmon Research Center.

"I can't think of a better name to put on this building that will be the center of research at Oklahoma State University," said OSU President Burns Hargis. "Governor Bellmon was so instrumental in establishing state support for research in Oklahoma and in particular at OSU. It is a privilege to honor him in this way. He was a great statesman, a proud Cowboy and personal mentor of mine."

The $70 million research center is the largest single project from the state's 2005 higher education bond program. The 124,000-square foot building will provide laboratory spaces for a range of disciplines and is expected to be completed in the fall of 2010.

The building has three floors plus a basement. It will contain custom-designed facilities for research in biodiversity, biophysics, photonics, synthetic chemistry and advanced materials.

Bellmon was the first Republican governor of Oklahoma and the first Republican governor in the South since Reconstruction.

He served two terms as governor. The first was from 1963 to 1967 and the second was from 1987 to 1991.

He defied his party in 1990 when he teamed with Democrat legislators to pass House Bill 1017, a

During his second term, Bellmon oversaw the establishment of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology and the Centers of Excellence Program.