Indiana University teachers urge the university’s leadership to rename the Biology Building for noted Black teacher

Bloomington, Indiana – A group of teachers on the IU are seeking from the leadership to consider to change the name of the biology building.

According to the latest information, more than 100 teachers from the biology department are requesting name change of the biology building once named after a 19th century IU president who supported eugenics to be renamed after a noted Black faculty member.

As of today, a total of 144 teachers signed the petition with their latest request asking the officials to consider to name the biology building in honor of James Holland, an award-winning teacher and endocrinologist who died in 1998.

The Herald-Times reports that the building was formerly known as Jordan Hall, getting its name from David Starr Jordan. The late IU president was a proponent of eugenics, the practice of controlled selective breeding of humans often carried out through forced sterilization.