Following the public outcry for racial equality that arose during the summer of 2020, LSU created the Building Name Evaluation Committee tasked with taking a closer look at how the names of buildings and places on campus could be reflecting the University’s segregated past and impacting the inclusivity of current students.
Vice President of the Division of Strategic Communications Jim Sabourin said the LSU community can tentatively expect to see a list of names up for removal within the next few months. However, he said he’d be hesitant to put a timeline on the full renaming process, as numerous steps are involved in its approval.
Since the Board of Supervisors created the Building Name Evaluation Committee in August, the committee has focused most of its time on creating a system to research and analyze any potentially divisive names on campus. At this time, there are around 20 names under review.
“The 16 members of the Building Name Evaluation Committee are more than aware of how sensitive and important their work is and that’s why they continue to conduct exhaustive research on the people for whom about 20 buildings on our campus are named,” Interim President Thomas Galligan said during a Faculty and Staff Diversity Forum Feb. 3.
Galligan also described what the full process of evaluating, removing and deciding upon new names will look like.
“When the report is completed, it will first be evaluated by our existing Naming Committee, followed by Provost Stacia Haynie and myself, and then the Board Academics Committee,” Galligan said.
Galligan said the Board of Supervisors will have the final determination on the removal of any names from buildings on campus.
“So while this committee’s work is an extremely important step in the process, it really is just the first step in a long and thoughtful process that may or may not result in any building names being removed,” Galligan said.
Sabourin said that even though the process could be lengthy, it does not reflect LSU’s lack of commitment to the ultimate goal of making campus an inclusive place for students of all races.
“We do listen, and if we weren’t serious about making change we would not have removed the name from Middleton Library and we would not be going through this process,” Sabourin said. “It’s not an overnight solution, there’s a lot of history at LSU. It’s not a matter of trying to erase that as much as it is to acknowledge and admit [past mistakes] and going forward making sure we don’t repeat any mistakes.”
Political Science Professor James Stoner, who is a member of the Building Name Evaluation Committee, said he has been “impressed by the seriousness, the diligence and the honesty of my fellow committee members.”
“Our discussions have been frank and have delved deeply into LSU’s complicated history,” Stoner said.
Sabourin acknowledged that the University is not naive in its thinking that the removal or addition of names will be accepted by all members of the community, but said it is taking its time with this process to ensure that there are valid reasons behind what is removed and the meaning behind any new names that may be proposed.
“Looking at the naming of buildings in and of itself is not really doing justice to what LSU is trying to achieve here,” Sabourin said. “This is one very small piece in the overall goal to make LSU a more inclusive place. If a name of a building is what prevents students from feeling like they are truly a part of the LSU community, we have to look at that. It’s more than a movement, it’s what we want LSU to become.”
“The 16 members of the Building Name Evaluation Committee are more than aware of how sensitive and important their work is and that’s why they continue to conduct exhaustive research on the people for whom about 20 buildings on our campus are named,” Interim President Thomas Galligan said during a Faculty and Staff Diversity Forum Feb. 3.
Galligan also described what the full process of evaluating, removing and deciding upon new names will look like.
“When the report is completed, it will first be evaluated by our existing Naming Committee, followed by Provost Stacia Haynie and myself, and then the Board Academics Committee,” Galligan said.
Galligan said the Board of Supervisors will have the final determination on the removal of any names from buildings on campus.
“So while this committee’s work is an extremely important step in the process, it really is just the first step in a long and thoughtful process that may or may not result in any building names being removed,” Galligan said.
Sabourin said that even though the process could be lengthy, it does not reflect LSU’s lack of commitment to the ultimate goal of making campus an inclusive place for students of all races.
“We do listen, and if we weren’t serious about making change we would not have removed the name from Middleton Library and we would not be going through this process,” Sabourin said. “It’s not an overnight solution, there’s a lot of history at LSU. It’s not a matter of trying to erase that as much as it is to acknowledge and admit [past mistakes] and going forward making sure we don’t repeat any mistakes.”
Political Science Professor James Stoner, who is a member of the Building Name Evaluation Committee, said he has been “impressed by the seriousness, the diligence and the honesty of my fellow committee members.”
“Our discussions have been frank and have delved deeply into LSU’s complicated history,” Stoner said.
Sabourin acknowledged that the University is not naive in its thinking that the removal or addition of names will be accepted by all members of the community, but said it is taking its time with this process to ensure that there are valid reasons behind what is removed and the meaning behind any new names that may be proposed.
“Looking at the naming of buildings in and of itself is not really doing justice to what LSU is trying to achieve here,” Sabourin said. “This is one very small piece in the overall goal to make LSU a more inclusive place. If a name of a building is what prevents students from feeling like they are truly a part of the LSU community, we have to look at that. It’s more than a movement, it’s what we want LSU to become.”
