By Zachary Schermele
The board of trustees of the University of Cincinnati (UC) voted unanimously on Tuesday to remove any mention of the schoolâs racist founder, Charles McMicken, from campus.
The decision came after a yearslong process spearheaded by Neville Pinto, the universityâs president, to investigate and begin the process of reconciling the schoolâs relationship with McMicken, a Cincinnati businessman and owner of enslaved people who had at least two children with enslaved women.
Upon his death in 1858, McMicken left land to the city for the purposes of establishing âtwo Colleges for the education of white Boys and Girls,â according to the university. About a decade later, McMickenâs bequest led to UCâs founding.
In December 2018, Pinto sent an email to the university community announcing the formation of a working group of administrators, faculty, alumni and students to examine McMickenâs legacy and the âuse of his name in affiliation with the university.â
The working groupâs 44-page report, released about a year later, unanimously recommended that the university discontinue using McMickenâs name in connection with the schoolâs College of Arts and Sciences, which had been known in part as the âMcMicken College of Arts and Sciencesâ for more than a century. That decision was approved unanimously by the schoolâs board of trustees in December 2019.
âTruth be told, McMickenâs place in our history has been too tidy for too long,â Pinto wrote in a message to the university community at the time.
Tuesdayâs move goes a step further. Pinto recommended the removal of McMickenâs name from campus entirely â particularly four spaces on campus, which include a hall and a cafe. Those spaces will be renamed Arts & Sciences Hall, Bearcats Commons, University Circle and Bearcats Cafe. Pinto also called for the university to update its digital displays to better reflect the schoolâs âcomplex historical connectionâ to McMickenâs legacy.
UC is one of several higher education institutions that have made efforts in recent years to reconcile their connections to slavery and anti-Black racism. In June 2020, the University of Southern California stripped a campus building of the name of a former president who was a prominent advocate for eugenics. And in April of this year, a report from a faculty-led committee at Harvard University recommended that the school return the remains, kept in a museum, of almost 20 people who were likely enslaved.
Just over 8% of UCâs nearly 50,000 enrolled students are African American, according to the schoolâs website. About 67% of enrolled students are white.
In a statement on Monday before the vote took place, Pinto said the changes would take effect immediately.
âThe prominence of McMickenâs name on campus, and the symbolism of exclusion it represents, is holding us back from creating and sustaining a full sense of belonging for all,â Pinto said.