The UNC Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to remove four namesakes of university figures from campus buildings due to their ties to white supremacy.

The board voted 11-2 on the removal of Charles B. Aycock, Josephus Daniels, Julian S. Carr and Thomas Ruffin Sr. from four campus buildings. Trustees Allie Ray McCullen and John Preyer were the dissenting votes on all motions.

Wednesday’s vote is the first approval of a campus building name change since 2015, when the board renamed the academic building Saunders Hall to Carolina Hall and instituted a moratorium on further changes. The moratorium, meant to last 16 years, was lifted by the board in June as a response to ongoing discussions of racial injustice in society.

The request for removal came from the UNC Commission on History, Race and A Way Forward, which sent a portfolio to UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz detailing all four men’s ties to white supremacy and the disenfranchisement of Black people. It’s the first instance of a group following the university’s new policy regarding the removal of campus building names, which was created on July 16.

On Thursday, Guskiewicz made the recommendation to the board to remove the names based on the commission’s work, saying he “wholeheartedly” concurred with their conclusion.

“If we kept these names on our buildings,” said the chancellor, “I believe we’d jeopardize our integrity and impede our mission of teaching, research and service to all North Carolinians. Continuing to honor these men is antithetical toward our work in building a diverse and inclusive community.”

Other trustees spoke to the urgency of the decision, citing how efforts on renaming were halted in 2015 and later in 2017. Many cited having gained new perspective in the recent months, where the campus, state and country have seen increased engagement about systemic racism and the lack of equity.

Trustee Gene Davis shared comments during the discussion and said he’s been on a personal journey of reflection based on recent events. He said his perspective has since changed from wanting to contextualize building names to removing those with racist ties, which he cited as an effort to strive for justice.

“I really believe this journey I’ve been on, our university and nation have been on,” said Davis, “is exactly why the founders of our state took action in 1789 to establish this great university. [It was] to prepare us for journeys of transformation, as people and as a society, toward becoming a more perfect union.”

Before the votes, Trustee Preyer presented a motion to maintain the buildings’ names, but rededicate them to honor the namesake’s descendants and their work for the university. He promoted a message of forgiveness and express concerns about making further changes to campus.

“This should not be an exercise that goes on in perpetuity,” Preyer said. “That’s not the way to make our university stronger. I really do fear exercises like this serve to divide us and not make the university stronger. We now are going to vote in judgement of these people, and I think that’s best left to a higher authority. But what we can do is forgive them, and I would urge everybody to consider that.”

The UNC Commission on History, Race and A Way Forward is set to be in place for three years to study the university’s past with race and to examine ways to accurate present its history.

While Ruffin Sr. will have his name removed from the residence hall, Ruffin Jr.’s name will remain. The board roundly said the portfolio in the commission’s request for removal lacked information on the son’s background or support of racist causes, who Ruffin Sr. also had the building dedicated to honor. University staff will now examine the extent of signage indoors and outdoors crediting the hall’s namesake as Ruffin Sr. and remove them. The temporary name of the residence hall will be changed to indicate its namesake is after Ruffin Jr.

Temporary names for the other buildings were also approved. The Josephus Daniels Building will be the Student Stores Building. Aycock Residence Hall will be Residence Hall 1. The Carr Building will be the Student Affairs Building. The Board of Trustees have a permanent naming process, which requires formal consideration and votes.

That naming process could begin soon for at least one of the buildings. During last week’s UNC System Board of Governors meeting, leadership mentioned Guskiewicz and Board of Trustees Chair Richard Stevens had discussed with the university system about naming a campus building in honor Dr. Bill Roper. Roper, who served as a dean for UNC, will retire as interim president of the UNC System on July 31.

In a conversation with Chapelboro, however, the chancellor indicated its unlikely these four buildings would be considered. He said discussion with Roper, the Board of Trustees and UNC Health are underway to explore areas more in line with the former dean’s expertise.

“We’re looking at a number of options,” said Guskiewicz, “[but it] would be most likely on the health affairs and medical side of campus. It could be one of the hospital buildings, potentially, or one of the School of Medicine buildings.”

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