Shepard Hall was constructed in 1908 and was funded entirely by students, alumni, faculty, and friends of Oregon Agricultural College. It was built by the Young Men's and Women's Christian Associations to provide facilities for student organizations. It was named for Clay Shepard, a 1904 OAC graduate, who first proposed such a building and raised most of the funds before he died in 1906. In 1940, the State Board of Higher Education purchased the building and renovated it for the Speech Department.