WEST LONG BRANCH- The Monmouth University Board of Trustees voted to retain “Woodrow Wilson Hall” as the name of the college’s central administrative building, while also requiring that significant steps be taken to ensure a comprehensive and balanced understanding of Wilson’s legacy.
The June 23 decision comes after months of discussion, examination, and collection of feedback from faculty, students, and alumni, on the cusp of the 100th anniversary of Wilson’s residence in West Long Branch in the summer of 1916.
The Monmouth University Board of Trustees was charged with balancing Wilson’s demonstrated record of service as a college president, governor of New Jersey, 28th president of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and principal architect of the League of Nations with lesser-known, but well-documented, views on race and immigration that included denying African-American students admission to Princeton University, re-segregating the federal government, and endorsing the Ku Klux Klan.
The move to reconsider the name of Woodrow Wilson Hall emerged from a broader exploration of race and inclusion initiated by Monmouth University President Paul R. Brown in early December 2015.
The initiative on the Monmouth campus followed protests and tension at the University of Missouri, the University of Michigan, Yale University, and at nearby Princeton University, which has been simultaneously grappling with Wilson’s legacy on its campus.
University administrators announced that the college will work to identify ongoing efforts including: comprehensive visitor education through building and campus tours and brochures; finding ways to honor the contributions of Julian Abele, one of the first professionally trained African-American architects, who was responsible for Wilson Hall’s interior design; and creating a living history space in the building and related educational programming.
