Yale University announced it will retain the name of its John C. Calhoun residential college after a student group called for its renaming, will open two new residential colleges, and discontinue the "master" title used for the communities' leaders.
"Ours is a nation that often refuses to face its own history of slavery and racism. Yale is part of that history,"
said Yale President Peter Salovey in an official statement. "We cannot erase American history but we can confront it, teach it, and learn from it. The decision to retain Calhoun College’s name reflects the importance of this vital educational imperative."
John C. Calhoun was the U.S. vice president from 1825-1832, and a Yale alumnus. He advocated for states rights and slavery.
Additionally, Salovey announced that the "master" title would change to "head of college" across the campus. The Black Student Alliance and others said the master title, which has roots in the college systems of Oxford and Cambridge, had unpleasant racial connotations.
The university also announced that two new colleges would be named for Anna Pauline Murray and Benjamin Franklin.
According to The Washington Post, Murray, who graduated from Yale Law School in 1965, was a legal scholar, civil rights activist, and the first black woman ordained by the Episcopalian church. By naming a residential college after her, she will become the first woman and first African-American to receive the honor.
Benjamin Franklin was a slave owner before he joined the abolitionist movement,
The New York Times reported.
The Black Student Alliance called the Murray and "head of college" announcements "long-overdue first steps towards creating a better and more inclusive Yale." The organization called the retention of the Calhoun name "a regression."
Another student group, Next Yale, gave Salovey a list of demands last year that advocated increasing the number and tenure of minority faculty members, among other items related to the recent university announcement.
In November, the university said it would commit $50 million to a diverse faculty initiative.
Less than 3 percent of Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences is black, while 11 percent of undergraduates identify themselves as black.
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