BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Back in June, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted to rename the Middleton Library.
The Middleton family responded to the LSU Board of Supervisors decision, but the Middleton name was taken down and a new chapter in LSU’s history was started on campus.
Now, almost two months later, LSU is announcing who is on the Building Name Evaluation Committee.
LSU Interim President Thomas C. Galligan, Jr. sent this statement out on Tuesday:
Dear LSU Community,
As part of our ongoing work to cultivate a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse campus community that is welcoming to all, it is my honor to announce the 16 members who will comprise the Building Name Evaluation Committee. The LSU faculty, staff, students, and alumni serving on the committee are:
Verge Ausberry (staff) — LSU Athletics Executive Deputy AD/Executive Director of External Relations
DeMetris Causer (student) — Black Law Students Association Member
Stone Cox (student) — LSU Student Government President, Board of Supervisors Member
Jason Droddy (staff) — Associate Vice President for the LSU Board of Supervisors
Katrina Dunn (alumna) — LSU National Diversity Advisory Board, President of the A.P. Tureaud Sr. Black Alumni Chapter, Practice Administrator, Co-owner, Auburn Urogynecology and Women’s Health
Theresa Gallion (alumna) — LSU Foundation National Board member, TAF Board of Directors, Partner at Cornell Smith Mierl Brutocao Burton, LLP
Tina M. Harris (faculty) — Douglas L. Manship Sr.-Dori Maynard Endowed Chair of Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy in the Manship School of Mass Communication
Tyler Hunt (student) — Black Women’s Empowerment Initiative Scholar
Dawn Jenkins (staff) — College of Science Director of Communications
Trey Jones (staff, ex-officio member) — Deputy General Counsel
Jonathan Levesque (staff) — IT Manager and Building Coordinator, President of LSU Staff Senate
Mandi Lopez (faculty) — Director Laboratory for Equine and Comparative Orthopedic Research, LSU Faculty Senate President
Theda Daniels-Race (faculty) — Michel B. Voorhies Distinguished Professor
Dereck Rovaris (staff) — Vice Provost for Diversity
James Stoner (professor) — Hermann Moyse, Jr. Professor of Political Science
Devin Woodson (student) — Black Male Leadership Initiative Co-ChairLSU is committed to eliminating building and place names that are a reminder of a racist and segregated past and that inhibit our students’ learning and full inclusion on campus. To that end, the Board instructed me as interim president to put together a committee to consider building names on campus.
Going forward, the members of this important committee will review and study building names on our campus to determine if they are symbols of or monuments to racism. The committee will consider existing names as they see fit and as suggested. Any committee recommendation to remove a building name will first be evaluated by the existing Naming Committee, followed by Executive Vice President and Provost Stacia Haynie, myself, the Board Academics Committee, and finally the LSU Board of Supervisors.
This committee is just one part of our broader effort to eliminate racism on our campus and create a living and learning environment that not only embraces individual difference but thrives because of it. At our Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity Leadership Retreat on July 1, nine committees were created to bring the action items outlined in our Diversity & Inclusion Roadmap 2020-2022 to fruition in a timely manner. The committees recently submitted their reports to be included in the final roadmap document, they have already met with Executive Vice President and Provost Stacia Haynie, and I will meet with them in September. Their work will continue throughout the academic year.
While we have made significant progress in recent years and months on our work, we recognize that we are in the early stages of a long journey that will be measured by our actions. I thank the members of our newly-formed LSU Building Name Evaluation Committee for their service, as well as those on the nine Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity Leadership Retreat committees. Together, we will make real and lasting changes that will strengthen our LSU Family, and I look forward to updating you on our progress as we achieve additional milestones.
Sincerely,
Thomas C. Galligan, Jr.
LSU Interim President and Professor of Law