In response to information uncovered regarding Loras Hall’s namesake, a committee was formed to provide long-term principles guiding St. Thomas in renaming campus structures, St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan announced in an email Thursday.

The Committee to Establish Principles on Renaming was created in response to the namesake of Loras Hall being found to have enslaved a woman for 16 years, Sullivan wrote. The committee will begin its work in November and conclude some time in the spring semester.

“Understanding and acknowledging our history will be part of our decision-making process along with clear transparency about our present values,” Sullivan wrote. “A process beginning with meaningful thought and engagement will ultimately help us build a community reflective of our core values of faith, equity and justice.”

Throughout the process, the committee will review literature on the history and theory of naming and renaming, consider other institutions and communities that have addressed renaming decisions, consult experts within and around the St. Thomas community, and provide opportunities for community members to share their views.

When this research is complete, the committee will recommend procedures for how future proposals will be presented. The group will present its research to Sullivan and the University of St. Thomas Board of Trustees for approval.

Once the committee finishes its work, a separate guidelines committee with relevant knowledge will be consulted with each specific renaming proposal, Sullivan wrote. That guidelines committee will make a recommendation based on the established principles, then submit it for approval with President Sullivan and the Board of Trustees.

The first proposal considered will be Loras Hall.

This committee will consist of representatives all across the St. Thomas community. In her email, Sullivan listed the 14 committee members who will partake in the process:

– University Co-Chair and School of Law Professor Gregory Sisk
– University Co-Chair and Racial Justice Initiative Leader Yohuru Williams
– Trustee and U.S. District Court Judge Wilhelmina Wright
– Trustee and GHR Foundation Chairman and Executive Director Amy Goldman
– History Professor David Williard
– Theology Professor Bernie Brady
– Professor at the School of Education Jayne Sommers
– Assistant Vice President of University Advancement Joe Plante
– Title IX Coordinator Danielle Hermanny
– Founding Dean of the Morrison Family College of Health MayKao Y. Hang
– Student Viridiana Martinez
– Graduate Student Jesse Addo

The committee’s non-voting members will include University Archivist Ann Kenne and Erica Oswald acting as administrative support.

Sam Larson can be reached at lars4378@stthomas.edu.
Casey Eakins can be reached at eaki9901@stthomas.edu.
Emily Haugen contributed to this report.