Historical Legacies: An Examination of Renaming Spaces at the University of Puget Sound
Naming spaces and buildings is one way that organizations can acknowledge and honor the contributions of an individual or group. In recent years, renaming has become a larger conversation, especially when confronting historical legacies, donor values, and sources of wealth. In September 2021, a group of faculty, staff, students, and volunteers at the University of Puget Sound completed their work as part of the Committee to Recommend Principles on Renaming University Buildings and Spaces. The committee was charged with articulating and recommending institutional principles to guide the university in evaluating and determining whether to remove or replace any name from a building or other prominent structure or space on campus.
Committee co-chairs Jane Carlin, Director of the Collins Library, and Dr. Sara Freeman, professor in the Department of Theatre Arts, will share insights about renaming issues across the country and locally. They will also detail the research of Puget Sound student Grace Eberhardt '20, whose exploration of Professor James R. Slater – the namesake behind the university's Slater Museum of Natural History, and teacher of eugenics courses from 1919 until his retirement in 1951 – prompted conversations on campus that were part of the committee's discussion. To read more about Grace Eberhardt's research, please visit "From the Archives: Eugenics at Puget Sound."
Date: Monday April 11th
Time: Noon – 1:00pm PDT via Zoom
Free for Apra-NW members
$10 for non-members
After registration you will receive a Zoom link. To encourage an open dialogue with all participants we ask that you try your best to utilize both the video and audio capabilities of Zoom so that we can interact with each other face to face.
Please email Anne Melton (apranw.programming@gmail.com) with any questions.
