Stanford University said on Monday it will review requests to rename a building that has ties to eugenics, reported the Stanford Daily.
The building in question is Jordan Hall, which was named in 1917 for Dr. David Starr Jordan, Stanford’s founding president and a leader of the eugenics movement. The movement promoted the belief that selective breeding, by excluding or including certain races, can improve the human race.
Stanford will form a committee to review requests submitted by the psychology department, which is housed in Jordan Hall, and the Stanford Eugenics History Project to rename the building. The committee will also review requests to remove the statue of Louis Agassiz, who mentored Jordan but has no ties to the university. The statue is located outside Jordan Hall.
“It is good to see the university start to confront its history with eugenics right now, during a historical moment when the rejection of eugenics and scientific racism is of vital importance,” said Ben Maldonado, a founder of the Stanford Eugenics History Project that seeks to unveil historical ties between Stanford and the American eugenics movement.
