Guidelines for the naming and renaming of buildings and objects on the campus of the College of William & Mary were approved Friday by the Board of Visitors, which immediately renamed two buildings — one in Williamsburg and one at Gloucester Point.
A university-wide work group was appointed by William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe about three months ago to develop naming guidelines in light of diversity concerns throughout Virginia and the nation, and the fact that many public buildings and monuments were named for and/or commemorated political and military leaders of the Confederate States of America.
No timetable had been established for the renaming process, explained Vice Rector William H. Payne II, also chairman of the board’s Administration, Building and Grounds Committee. He acknowledged that the renaming was quick, but these renamed buildings “were obvious” and needed no further study.
Trinkle Hall, the dining hall for a half century, was named after former Virginia Gov. Elbert Lee Trinkle, who signed “some of the most pernicious Jim Crow laws in Virginia history,” the renaming resolution said, including the prohibition of interracial marriages and the compulsory sterilization of mental hospital patients “deemed to be mental defectives.” The hall located directly behind the Campus Center off Jamestown Road was renamed Unity Hall.
On the campus of the William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester County, one of the earliest buildings there was named Maury Hall, after Matthew Fontaine Maury, known as the father of modern oceanography. However, Maury also resigned his U.S. naval commission at the outbreak of the Civil War and joined the Confederacy. His statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond was recently removed by the city. The hall was renamed York River Hall by the board.
Renaming of the Institute’s building was recommended by its Diversity and Inclusion Committee while the William & Mary Lemon Project identified Trinkle Hall for renaming.
Rowe stressed to the board that “William & Mary’s current practice of contextualization of our historic campus — telling its whole story” — of buildings and spaces should include a robust historical context “that reflects our expanding knowledge of the past, explaining and correcting incomplete or pass-over versions of William & Mary’s history.”
In that regard, she called for additional work, examining former William & Mary President Benjamin Stoddert Ewell, who served in the Confederate army; and William Taliaferro, who was a Confederate general, an alumnus and a rector and president of the Board of Visitors. Both men’s names are on campus buildings.
She also asked that additional research be conducted on the possibility of naming a William & Mary building for Art Matsu, a 1920s football star and an early William & Mary Asian American student; and Samuel Harris, a Black Williamsburg entrepreneur at the turn of the 20th century, who owned several area businesses. He also was one of the wealthiest men in the area and reportedly loaned Ewell money to be able to purchase seeds to plant his farmland when the college president retired in 1888 and returned to farming in James City County.
Henceforth, the college’s Design and Review Board will recommend naming and renaming buildings and objects on campus. The updated roles and responsibilities of the DRB to include the naming strategy were also approved by the Board of Visitors.
There are now six specific criterion which the DRB now has for naming and renaming, including that a name “must represent the university’s diverse constituencies,” “represent William & Mary’s evolving mission and values,” “contribute to the increase in diversity of commemorations across campus” and recognize an “historical individual, cause or era (meeting) a high standard.”
Reporting on the COVID-19 impact at the college, Amy Sebring, William & Mary’s chief operating officer, said the college has incurred a $22.7 million direct financial shortfall, with additional costs of $8.3 million in COVID expenses, and $1.7 million in costs to redefine staffing and resources. Thus, the total deficit is $32.7 million to date.
Rowe told the board the budget deficit could be “as high as $100 million in the months ahead.”
However, she explained, “We’ve had success so far,” with the phased return of students to campus that began seven weeks ago.
“We have cautious optimism as we continued to learn as we go … and to be together and to create community.”
A second round of COVID testing has been completed, with 7,380 students and 305 employees tested.
“The results (also) have given us reason to be optimistic,” Rowe added. There are fewer than 10 active cases on campus.
Rowe stressed the college officials are “seeing really profound growth in this organization” during the days of the pandemic. She stated frankly, “There isn’t going to be a snap back to 2019 ever.”
