The movement to rename USC buildings stops at Pastides’ doorstep
After years of study and activism, USC’s administration is ending the fight change the names of campus buildings named for controversial figures.
Despite the recommendation from a group of educators, historians and community leaders to rename 11 campus buildings — including late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond — Interim USC President Harris Pastides will not be recommending the board of trustees approve the name-change recommendations.
“While the state’s Heritage Act prevents the school from changing the names of existing buildings...the university has an obligation to better educate the community on the university’s true history, including the significant contributions made by African Americans,” according to a Friday news release from USC.
Without board approval, S.C. lawmakers will not consider changing campus building names.
In a Wednesday letter to students and employees, Pastides said while some campus building names “reflect a legacy of racism and oppression,” the state’s Heritage Act prevents the school from changing building names. The Heritage Act prevents any buildings named for historical figures from being renamed unless two-thirds of both the S.C. House and Senate approve a change.
“According to the letter that was just released, the president & board have no intentions of changing the building names despite the commission’s recommendations. Today was not a win,” tweeted Lyric Swinton, a USC alumna and activist who has pushed to rename campus buildings.
This approach is a departure from the administration of Robert Caslen, when — following the murder of George Floyd — USC recommended the board of trustees approve changing the name of a women’s dorm named for J. Marion Sims, who pioneered modern gynecology by experimenting on enslaved women without anesthesia. Following Caslen’s recommendation, USC’s board approved the name change, but lawmakers have not moved forward on renaming the building.
Top S.C. lawmakers have resisted changing the names of buildings, particularly those named for Thurmond, and said future change is unlikely, The State reported previously. However, other lawmakers have pushed back, with one calling her colleagues “spinally challenged” for refusing to take on controversial issues.
When the Presidential Commission on University History unanimously approved the report recommending the names of 11 buildings being changed, some commission members acknowledged change may be slow to come.
“I think what we do here today...is leaving something for posterity’s sake,” said Todd Shaw, an associate professor of political science and African American studies. “This is a public accounting of who we have been and who we hope to be.”
The report is essentially the same as a draft obtained by The State earlier this week. After The State published an article summarizing the draft recommendations, Pastides released a statement that at least one member of the commission said was premature.
“Seeing a message come out from the president before we even had this conversation was discouraging,” said Qiana Whitted, a commission member who is the director of the African American Studies Program and an English professor.
For future buildings, however, USC will create new criteria for naming buildings, Pastides said in the letter.
“While the Heritage Act remains in place, the Board of Trustees is still committed to developing new policies that will address assigning names to new buildings and places on campus,” the letter said.
In coming years, USC will have an opportunity to name multiple buildings, as the university is constructing a massive, $240 million dormitory project called Campus Village and planning a $300 million medical school campus on Bull Street.
While changing the names of existing buildings appears to be a non-starter, at least for now, the report recommended 14 names of African Americans who would be qualified to have a building named after them.