Beginning Friday, former Tar Heels Hortense McClinton and Henry Owl have their names installed on campus buildings.
UNC announced its formal name replacements for two buildings that saw their namesakes stripped last summer. McClinton Residence Hall, now named for the first Black professor hired at UNC, replaces the former Aycock Residence Hall. The Henry Owl Building is the new name for the Student Affairs Building – formerly Carr Hall. Owl was the first American Indian and first person of color to enroll at UNC – he was a history graduate student in 1928.
“Hortense McClinton and Henry Owl were trailblazing pioneers who left an indelible legacy at Carolina,” UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a release on Friday. “They embody the values that define our University, and naming these buildings after them marks an important step in building a campus community where everyone feels that they belong and can thrive.”
In June 2020, the UNC Board of Trustees lifted a 16-year moratorium on removing names from campus buildings. In July 2020, the board voted to remove the names of Charles Brantley Aycock, Julian Shakespeare Carr, Josephus Daniels and Thomas Ruffin Sr. from their respective buildings. Friday’s release announcing the changes revealed the UNC Board of Trustees voted on November 4 to add McClinton and Owl’s names to the former Aycock Residence Hall and Carr Building, respectively.
Both buildings saw new black metal signs installed Friday. The university said etching “Henry Owl” into the stone at the Student Affairs building will take longer, but is expected to be completed as part of the name change.
As part of an examination of UNC’s campus and history, the Commission on History, Race and a Way Forward is researching backgrounds on other people who lend names to campus buildings. Its most recent recommendation to the chancellor is the removal of 10 names with ties to white supremacy, the Confederacy and slavery.
Patricia Parker, who has been a UNC faculty member since 1998, is the chair of the commission. She was on-site Friday morning to see the new signs installed at the buildings on campus.
“It’s quite emotional, because it’s palpable when you walk on this campus to know how much history is here,” Parker told Chapelboro. “It’s wonderful to be able to acknowledge someone, especially the two people acknowledged today, and the impact they have had on this campus when there are so many unnamed descendants of formerly enslaved people, the indigenous people whose land this campus occupies [who go unrecognized.]
“It’s monumental to be able to acknowledge their contributions and I’m glad to be here to witness it,” she added. “To acknowledge the histories that have never been written…that’s what we’re doing today.”
Jim Leloudis is a member of UNC’s history department and is also a leader on the Commission on History, Race and a Way Forward. He said he found Friday to be “a profoundly moving day” because of the recognition of two trailblazers of the school’s history that he’s learned so much about in his years since attending Carolina as a student.
“Hortense McClinton and Henry Owl…a lot of people are called pioneers and they certainly fit that characterization,” Leloudis said. “I think it’s so fitting that their names are now on the Student Affairs Building and a residence hall. I hope that their stories will inspire undergraduate students and will remind them of what this university can be on its best days.”
A UNC worker examines the new sign displaying McClinton Residence Hall, the new name of a dorm in the Lower Quad Residential Community.
In March 2021, Chancellor Guskiewicz held an open call for names to be honored in the renaming process. During the nomination window, 1,100 names were submitted to the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Naming University Facilities and Units.
Names for honorees needed to meet certain criteria to be considered. They must represent the values of the university, have traditionally been underrepresented at Carolina and have had a positive impact on the campus.
“We want these names to represent the values of our campus and quickly become part of the fabric of our community,” Guskiewicz said. “I am grateful for the students, faculty and staff who have advocated for change. I am confident that we have plenty of worthy honorees who have been instrumental in our shared history.”
The new sign for the Henry Owl Building, which is located off of Cameron Avenue on UNC’s campus.
Ultimately, the UNC Board of Trustees have final decision on any future name removals.
In addition to examining other campus buildings’ namesakes, Leloudis said the commission is also examining the cemeteries on university property where many enslaved people are buried and researching Memorial Hall, especially the plaque listing the names of dead Confederate soldiers inside the concert hall.
To read the university’s full release regarding the name changes to the Owl Building and McClinton Residence Hall, visit UNC’s website.
Photo via UNC.
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