Revocation of Honorific Namings

OVERVIEW

According to the Board of Regents Policy: Namings and Renamings, the president shall consider a revocation of any naming at the request of the Board. The president may also consider a revocation of any naming in response to a well-considered written request submitted by an individual or at the president’s own initiative. Anonymous revocation requests shall not be considered.

A request to revoke a naming shall include only one significant University asset per submission. 

PROCESS 

A well-considered written request shall address factors as noted in Section VII, Subd. 4:

  • Advancement of the University's mission, guiding principles, and shared history.
  • Impact on the University's diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.
  • The harm caused by retaining the name, and the harmful impact of the individual's or non-University entity's behavior.
  • Whether the individual’s or non-University entity’s behavior is inconsistent with the University’s mission and guiding principles, jeopardizes the integrity of the University, or presents risk or harm to the reputation of the University. 
  • Strength and clarity of the historical evidence.

The written request shall also address factors as noted in Section VII, Subd. 2:

  • The specific behavior of the individual or non-University entity after whom a significant University asset is named.
  • The sources and strength of the information of that behavior.
  • The nature, depth, and extent of the present and future harm that the continued use of the name may inflict on the University.

NEXT STEPS

If the president decides to forward the revocation request to the All-University Honors Committee (AUHC), the AUHC, with recommendations from its Namings and Renamings Work Group (NRWG), will review and research the request. The AUHC will then submit a written report to the president that summarizes the revocation request, details how the guiding principles and factors were applied to the request, and describes the committee’s findings with attribution to the sources relied upon for the findings. The president may ask the AUHC for additional information and analysis if needed. 

The president shall submit the AUHC report and the president’s recommendation to the Board for action, including plans for contextualization to avoid the potential for erasure and to communicate historical information if revocation is recommended.

If a request for a revocation is granted by the Board, the AUHC will be requested to initiate the renamings nomination process. 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please contact Erin Heath, director, University Awards and Honors, at [email protected] or 612-625-4805 for additional information regarding this process.