Naming Committee update: Community review of draft recommendations

Description

One of several initiatives undertaken by Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine during this period of national reckoning with racism and inequality, the Johns Hopkins Committee to Establish Principles on Naming is tasked with addressing important questions regarding the legacy of individuals whose names or iconography adorn our buildings and programs. The committee's charge, as outlined by President Daniels and Provost Kumar, is to develop institutional-level principles and procedures for evaluating requests to change or remove the name of an existing building or program, which can then be applied with rigor to specific cases.

After hosting several listening sessions earlier this year, the committee has drafted recommendations, which will be shared in this upcoming listening session for community feedback.

The committee has been focused on three core questions:

• What substantive criteria should be used when considering renaming requests?
• What process should be followed in evaluating them?
• How can we provide effective historical context in cases where renaming isn't appropriate but where greater public understanding of an individual's legacy is warranted?

In order to facilitate a robust discussion about these difficult issues, this listening session will be divided into small groups, each led by at least one committee member. Pre-registration is required; virtual seating may be limited.