Lexington, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Washington and Lee University's Board of Trustees has voted 22-6 to retain its name. The school is named after both George Washington and Robert E. Lee. Washington, the country's first president, was a slave-owner, and Lee led Confederate Forces during the Civil War. However, Washington made a major gift that ensured the school's surivival, and Lee was also the school's president and is buried on campus.
In making the decision, the board said, "Our community holds passionate and divergent opinions about our name. The association with our namesakes can be painful to those who continue to experience racism, especially to African Americans, and is seen by some as an impediment to our efforts to attract and support a diverse community. For others, our name is an appropriate recognition of the specific and significant contributions each man made directly to our institution..... The university today is not a memorial to our namesakes, but a place that provides an exceptional liberal arts and legal education and fosters relationships that bind generations of students, faculty, staff, and alumni to each other."
While the name will remain, other changes are being made on campus. Founders Day, traditionally held on Lee's Birthday, will be discontinued. Also, Lee Chapel will be renamed "University Chapel," in keeping with its original 19th century name of "College Chapel." The board will oversee and approve interior changes to restore its unadorned design and physically separate the auditorium from the Lee family crypt and Lee memorial sculpture.
The announcement comes the same week a report into alleged racism at Virginia Military Institute was released. VMI, like Washington and Lee, is located in Lexington.