1. Any member of the Duke community (faculty, students, alumni, and staff) may make a proposal to reconsider the naming of a building or other act of memorialization of an individual on the Duke campus.

2. The proposal is to be submitted to the Office of the Secretary of the Board of Trustees. It should consist of the following:

• A rationale for any proposed change in naming or memorialization; and

• An explanation, supported by appropriate research, regarding how the principles established by the Board of Trustees on naming and memorialization support the proposed change.

3. Upon receipt of a proposal, the secretary will do the following:

• Ensure that the proposal thoughtfully engages with the principles related to naming and memorialization set forth by the Board of Trustees and makes a case on that basis for a proposed change. If the secretary is not persuaded that the proposal has done so, the secretary will return the proposal to the member of the Duke community who submitted it for further revision.

• Once the secretary has decided that the proposal has complied with the requirements above, the secretary will consult with the senior leadership of administration and the Executive Committee of the Academic Council to conduct an initial assessment of the merits of the proposal.

• If after this consultation, the secretary decides that the request warrants the attention of the president, the secretary will forward the proposal to the president.

4. Upon receipt of a proposal from the secretary, the president will convene an ad hoc committee to consider the proposal and make a recommendation to the president regarding any change in naming or memorialization. In constituting the committee, the president will draw upon expertise within the Duke community and from external sources, and will include representatives from the faculty, students, staff, alumni, the executive vice president, the vice president for public affairs and government relations, and the chair of the Facilities and Environment Committee of the Board of Trustees.

5. Once the committee has delivered its report to the president, the president may accept, reject, or modify the committee’s recommendation before bringing the proposal forward to the Board of Trustees for final action.

[PDF of Procedures for Reconsideration of Namings and Memorializations]