The names of at least 21 buildings on the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus soon could be up for review under a revised policy approved this month by the Board of Regents.
The new policy calls for honorary building names to expire after 75 years, unless the board decides to keep the name indefinitely.
A name should stay on a building beyond 75 years only if it “serves as an exemplar of the University’s past, present and future and the highest aspiration of the institution’s mission and guiding principles, including the University’s diversity, equity and inclusion goals, and the evolving landscape of University history and achievement,” the policy reads, in part.
Regent Darrin Rosha pushed for a less lofty standard for retaining a building name but was outvoted, and the policy passed, 11-1.
Even so, Rosha said the policy contains “really substantial” improvements over the old one, which provided little direction to regents as they considered – but finally decided against – changing four building names in 2019.
The four building namesakes, all former U administrators, came under scrutiny following a 2017 library exhibit. It presented evidence that three of them – Lotus Coffman, William Middlebrook and Walter Coffey – promoted segregated student housing in the 1930s and 1940s, and a fourth, Edward Nicholson, targeted Jewish and Communist students.
Then-President Eric Kaler agreed with a task force’s recommendation that the men’s names be scrubbed from campus buildings. However, the Board of Regents found the evidence less than persuasive and in 2019 called an abrupt halt to the process, voting 10-1 to keep the four building names but pursue changes to the namings policy.
“The presence of this policy would have helped immeasurably throughout that process, and while it’s not perfect, it’s a far improvement on where we found ourselves then,” Regent David McMillan said.
According to the new policy, the U’s All-University Honors Committee will do the work of reviewing names after 75 years and recommending either retention or a new name. That group also will do the research on any name changes requested outside of the 75-year timeline.
President Joan Gabel said it will take “several months” for the committee to establish its own process that aligns with the board’s policy.
After that, the committee will review at least 30 building names on the Twin Cities, Duluth, Morris and Crookston campuses that have stood for over 75 years.
The U, in response to a Pioneer Press records request, identified 21 buildings on the Twin Cities campus that will be reviewed soon:
- Pillsbury Hall, named in 1889;
- Shevlin Hall, 1905;
- Folwell Hall, 1906;
- Sanford Hall, 1910;
- Haecker Hall, 1925;
- Northrop Memorial Auditorium, 1929;
- Pattee Hall, 1931;
- Burton Hall, 1931;
- Jones Hall, 1931;
- Pioneer Hall, 1931;
- Vincent Hall, 1937;
- Eddy Hall, 1938;
- Cooke Hall, 1938;
- Snyder Hall, 1938;
- Green Hall, 1938;
- Coffman Memorial Union, 1939;
- Murphy Hall, 1939;
- Comstock Hall, 1940;
- Wulling Hall, 1942;
- Appleby Hall, 1942;
- Nicholson Hall, 1945.
Coffey Hall on the St. Paul campus, named in 1949, also will be up soon. It could be included in the initial batch because the policy allows for reviews up to three years before the 75th year.
The 75-year limit does not apply to namings associated with gifts or sponsorships.