University of Michigan-Flint
Posted on behalf of Meagan Brown.
You may notice some new faces around the library. No, not new faculty or staff, but new faces on the keys for the study rooms!
Over the last three years, Flint, Dearborn, and Ann Arbor campuses have been working on the Inclusive History Project (IHP). The goal of the IHP is one of “…institutional self-discovery committed to challenging our conception of the past and taking action to build a truly inclusive present and future.” There are many ideas for accomplishing this goal, one of which is naming or renaming campus spaces to reflect campus history.
On a college campus, large spaces such as buildings and theaters have naming rules usually based on an individual’s financial or educational impact on the campus. For example, French Hall is famously named after the beloved first Dean of the college, David M. French, or the Harding-Mott University Center, whose name reflects the close funding ties UM Flint shares with the Mott Foundation. They also tend to require committees, the chancellor’s approval, and bureaucracy.
Smaller spaces, though, are up for grabs.
Archivist Callum Carr-Marquis proposed renaming the study rooms (currently named after great minds - Mozart, Curie, Shakespeare, etc.) last year to honor those who may never get a building named after them but who deeply affected this campus nonetheless. Carr-Marquis also suggested involving the campus community in voting on some study room names to encourage more people to learn campus history.
This is where you come in. From now until December 5, we are asking you to vote for the notable individuals with strong ties to UM-Flint you’d most like to see study rooms named after. The four names with the most votes will all have study rooms named after them. This is your chance to honor and celebrate outstanding individuals who have made a difference on campus and in the larger community. Look for these newly-named spaces at the start of Winter semester.
Read the nominees' biographies and vote today!
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