UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees lifts renaming moratorium
The Board of Trustees has voted to lift its moratorium on the consideration of changing the names on buildings, monuments, memorials and landscapes on our campus.
Dear Carolina Community,
It has often been said that the history of our University mirrors that of our nation. Just as the United States has tried to come to grips with the many realities of white supremacy and racism, our campus has struggled for decades with our own history that includes much of the same.
Our aspirations to be the nation’s leading global public research university must include a much deeper dedication to reconciling that history with a contemporary commitment to full racial equality and inclusivity. That requires real action and full accountability — and it will start with us.
Today, the UNC Board of Trustees voted to repeal Resolution No. 3, the 16-year freeze on renaming buildings, monuments, memorials and landscapes located on our campus. The board put the moratorium in place in May 2015 after it voted to change Saunders Hall to Carolina Hall. At that time, it also commissioned a History Task Force to, among several objectives, begin the work of fully cataloging the names on our campus long associated with those who held people in slavery, white supremacists and racists whose actions were intended to intimidate and further oppress Black Americans and indigenous people. The History Task Force significantly moved our University ahead by demonstrating the importance of bringing our campus experts to bear on this challenge.
Last fall, we established the Commission on History, Race and a Way Forward for Carolina. Comprised of UNC-Chapel Hill scholars, students and local leaders, the commission was created to help accelerate the changes our campus community has long demanded. Chancellor Guskiewicz appointed Dr. James Leloudis and Dr. Patricia Parker — two of our finest scholars who have an abiding love for Carolina — to lead the Commission. Last February, the chancellor charged the commission and in March, Drs. Leloudis and Parker provided the board with an overview of their vision for the commission.
By lifting the moratorium, the board is underscoring the importance of the commission’s role to join them in making recommendations to help our campus heal and move forward with a mission to learn from our past and make Carolina a welcoming place for all Tar Heels. During today’s meeting, Chair Richard Stevens indicated that the trustees will immediately study and review potential guidelines for renaming buildings in collaboration with the chancellor.
We are living in a world where change should be fueled by a desire to create and embrace a more inclusive world, not resisted by fear. Today, we are sending a clear message to the Carolina Community that we will reconcile our past and create a future that reflects the inclusivity and equality that our nation and the world deserve and demand.
Sincerely,
Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Chancellor
Richard Stevens
Chair, UNC Board of Trustees
