Dear Members of the Campus Community,
In December 2021, I was pleased to share with you the report of the Committee to Recommend Principles on Renaming University Buildings & Spaces, which established guiding principles for us to use in evaluating whether to remove a name from a university building or space. One of the initial next steps I identified was to develop and present a policy to the board of trustees at either its February 2022 meeting or no later than its May 2022 meeting. I am happy to report that the board of trustees considered and unanimously approved the Policy on the Reconsideration or Removal of Names on University Buildings & University Spaces at its February meeting. This policy is an important and historical accomplishment for the university.
Although the development and approval of this policy is an important step forward, the work does not end here. The Office of University Relations has cataloged existing named buildings and spaces on campus to establish a transparent record of how buildings and spaces are named, and to help us identify trends in our naming practices. We are in the process of developing a website that will provide the campus with information about requests and campus work going forward, as well as document and preserve the detailed work of the Committee to Recommend Principles on Renaming University Buildings & Spaces.
Additionally, Vice President Joanna Carey Cleveland and Vice President Lorna Hernandez Jarvis are preparing guidance for review committees who will be charged with evaluating requests to reconsider or remove a name from a campus building or space. This work will incorporate opportunities for multiple perspectives to be considered. Once that guidance is finalized later this spring, I will appoint a review committee to consider a request to remove the name “Slater” from the Slater Museum of Natural History that came forward during the work of the Committee to Recommend Principles on Renaming University Buildings & Spaces. Upon the conclusion of the review committee’s work, the committee will submit a written report and recommendation for next steps to me. If the review committee and I determine that the reconsideration or removal of a name is appropriate, I will submit a recommendation to that effect to the board of trustees at its next scheduled meeting – which will likely be the Board’s October 2022 meeting.
I am grateful to our campus community members for being willing to thoughtfully evaluate our history, traditions, and practices so that they are aligned with our university’s mission and commitment to creating an open, equitable, and inclusive environment and for their commitment to memorialize this work.
Sincerely,
Isiaah
Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President