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REVIEW OF BUILDING AND STRUCTURE NAMES AT IUSB

REVIEW OF BUILDING AND STRUCTURE NAMES AT IUSB

A Diverse and Welcoming Community

In July 2020, Chancellor Elrod appointed a campus-wide committee titled the IU South Bend Building Name Committee to assist the campus in researching and analyzing information about our named buildings. The purpose of this work is to ensure that those for whom such entities are named reflect the values held by the IU community.

Goal 3 of IU South Bend’s emerging Strategic Plan states that we will “advance diversity, equity, and inclusivity and a sense of belonging on our campus and in the communities we serve.” Our efforts on the Building Name Committee are just one of the many ways that we strive to build a welcoming campus community. Our process and findings are detailed below and we invite all members of our campus and the communities we serve to review this material and provide feedback and additional information for the committee’s consideration.

Scope of this Initiative  

IUSB will conduct a systematic review of all named buildings on the South Bend campus under the direction of interim Vice Chancellor for University Relations Tom Stevick. The Building Naming Committee plans to:  

Identify all named buildings and structures at IUSB 
Conduct qualitative research about individual(s) for whom buildings are named, using IU and IUSB policies and documents to inform the review process 
Ensure that named individual(s) reflect values held by Indiana University by analyzing documented facts about their accomplishments and contributions to their communities 
Encourage transparency and broad public participation through a Town Hall meeting and informative website where community members can learn more about this initiative and provide written feedback to the committee  
Submit reports detailing research methods, committee findings, and any recommendations to the IUSB campus community

Tom Stevick, Chair
Interim Vice Chancellor, University Relations

Dr. Darryl Heller
Director, Civil Rights Heritage Center
Assistant Professor of Women's and Gender Studies

Scott Shoger
Archivist and Assistant Librarian, Indiana University South Bend Archives and Special Collections

Laura Harlow
Director of Institutional Equity and Inclusive Excellence

Dr. Monica Porter,
Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs/Dean of Students/Chief Diversity Officer

Dr. Pat Furlong
Emeritus Professor/Campus Historian

Dr. Jay VanderVeen
Associate professor of anthropology and chair of the department of sociology and anthropology

Bryson Sarren
Undergraduate Student Austin Blue Lead Researcher Graduate Student

July 2020	Report issued from President McRobbie asking the University Naming Committee to begin a systematic review of all named buildings or structures on all IU Campuses
August 2020	Committee appointed by Chancellor Elrod
September 2020	Committee hold initial meeting.
October 2020	Student researcher Austin Blue was appointed to committee and began to develop list of all named buildings and spaces on IU South Bend’s Campus Discussion with Vice Chancellor of University Development Tom Stevick about June 2020 Presidential Memo and Building Name Documents Review of IU policy standards and questions guiding research and interpretation
November 2020	Developed a research methodology proposal for building name review process Discussion with Vice Chancellor, University Archivist Scott Schoger, and student researcher about methodology and set a 5 month timeline for initial phase of data collection Began research and analysis work on Dorothy & Darwin Wiekamp
December 2020	Meeting with Building Naming Committee to introduce research methodology, review Wiekamp findings, and refine master list of named buildings and spaces Assigned all campus named spaces into one of two tiers, with first tier being named buildings and second tier consisting of named spaces and rooms Prioritized the following buildings in Tier One: Dorothy and Darwin Wiekamp Hall, Franklin D. Schurz Library, and Vera Z. Dwyer Hall
January 2021	Began research and analysis work on Franklin D. Schurz Discussion with Jay VanderVeen about Schurz research and additional sources of data to include in methodology Meeting with Building Naming Committee to review Schurz findings and discuss options for conducting a public forum to share research and gather feedback from community members
February 2021	Continue research and analysis work on Schurz and began work on Vera Z. Dwyer Discussion with Laura Harlow about Schurz and Dwyer research, improvements to research methodology, and the need for executive summaries for each named space Meeting with Building Naming Committee to review Schurz, Dwyer findings and generate ideas for public forum
March 2021	Continue research and analysis work on Dwyer Discussion with Patrick Furlong about Dwyer research and public forum, discussed holding online forum at Civil Rights Heritage Center Meeting with Building Naming Committee to continue planning public forum components including website and virtual Town Hall meeting hosted at the South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center
April 2021	Create executive summaries of findings related to Dorothy and Darwin Wiekamp, Franklin D. Schurz, and Vera Z. Dwyer Collaborate with UITS to create website with written description of this initiative and all research findings Meeting with Building Naming Committee to…

The IU Policy on Institutional Naming (UA-06) governs our consideration of this review. In cases where questions arise about individuals who may have possessed values inimical to the fundamental values of the university, the standard of evaluation should reference established Indiana University statements of values, including, but not limited to:

IU Mission, Core Values, and Vision Statements as approved by the IU Board of Trustees in 2014: https://strategicplan.iu.edu/mission-values-vision/index.html
IU Policy on Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action: https://policies.iu.edu/policies/ua-01-equal-opportunity-affirmative-action/index.html
IU Policy on Academic Freedom: https://policies.iu.edu/policies/aca-32-academic-freedom/index.html
IU Policy on Institutional Naming: https://policies.iu.edu/policies/ua-06-institutional-naming/index.html
Campus mission statements, values statements, and additional references as needed for local contextual consideration.

Who was this individual? Basic biographical information including birth, death, family history.  
What was their IU connection? Professional years of service and titles; alumni degrees.
What are the known professional achievements and/or connections to the specific facility?  
Are there any clearly known IU associates?   
Is there any indication that this individual officially, publicly, and/or systematically held values inimical to the values of IU?   
Why was the facility named for this person? Who named the facility for this person? What were the institutional naming standards at that time? What were the University's published values when the building was named? Is there a mission statement from that time that alludes to IU's values?  
Was there a Trustee resolution connected to the naming approval? What does it say?   
What were the person’s financial ties to the University? Was he/she a donor? Was this considered when the facility was named?  
Is there evidence that the individual’s private opinions and values influenced or interfered with their role at IU or with the educational mission of IU? Was this someone who merely held such values privately or also acted on them?   
What were the prevailing and relevant historical contexts of his/her life and times? Was he/she a product of their time? Was he/she ahead or behind their time?   
Is there a transcript or other records related to the dedication of the building or the ceremony?  
Is there any evidence that the person recanted or changed his/her views at any point?  
Would a building be named for this person today?

Have feedback or input for the committee?

The IU South Bend Building Name Committee welcomes feedback and questions from campus and the community. If you have information about the individuals highlighted on this website that you would like to share with the Committee, please use the confidential feedback form below to write to us. If you would like to schedule a time to speak with a representative of the Committee, please email Committee Chair, Tom Stevick, at tstevick@iusb.edu.

Indiana University South Bend

REVIEW OF BUILDING AND STRUCTURE NAMES AT IUSB

A Diverse and Welcoming Community

Scope of this Initiative

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REVIEW OF BUILDING AND STRUCTURE NAMES AT IUSB

A Diverse and Welcoming Community

Scope of this Initiative

Building Name Committee

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Policy Standards

Questions to Guide Research and Interpretation

Have feedback or input for the committee?

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Scope of this Initiative  