Naming and Renaming at William & Mary
A working group of administrators, alumni, students, faculty and staff was established to develop principles on the naming and renaming of buildings, spaces and structures at William & Mary.
The working group submitted its final report (pdf) to President Rowe and the Board of Visitors in February 2021. The report includes a set of recommendations, as well as a list of actions that have already been accomplished as a result of the group's work.
President Rowe accepted the report and submitted a memo with recommended next steps for naming and renaming (pdf). The university's Design Review Board has established and will oversee the naming and renaming review process.
“If any institution can approach complex questions about its institutional memory in evidence-based and nuanced ways, it is a university – and especially this university. Because of William & Mary’s history, we have an obligation to continue the important moral and intellectual work of revisiting whom and what we commemorate. William & Mary has engaged for over a decade in sustained scholarship and forthright self-examination of the institution’s history of slavery and racism. This working group will advance how the university implements the lessons learned, now and for the future.”
— Katherine A. Rowe
