Trustees Approve Naming Policy

Princeton’s Board of Trustees has approved standards for the NAMING OF CAMPUS BUILDINGS, SPACES, AND PROGRAMS — requiring, for example, that honorific namings “advance University values and policies” and that donor-requested names not belong to a person or organization that “has a record of malfeasance of a character” that would make the name inappropriate.

In approving the policy, in June, the trustees were carrying out a recommendation by a committee that reported on the legacy of Woodrow Wilson 1879. “As the University expands the portfolio of honorific namings on campus, it should take into account the University’s aspiration to be diverse and inclusive,” the policy states. Honorific namings are not supported by a naming gift.

Under the policy, the trustees will be responsible for naming. They may seek advice — which would be confidential — about proposed names from a new committee of the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC). In some cases, the CPUC may be asked to recommend names and generally should solicit public input.

The policy includes “a presumption against” names honoring countries or political bodies because they “may undergo dramatic change and commit dramatic injustice,” and a corporation or country must be “sufficiently stable that it is reasonable for the University to take whatever risks may be involved in establishing a long-term relationship.”

To read the policy, go to http://www.princeton.edu/vpsec/cpuc/doc/naming_policy.pdf.