After concerns of racism, university to keep name on historic hall

16 ijcolleges MURRAY

Woodrow Wilson Hall at Monmouth University in 2010.

(Ed Murray/The Star-Ledger)

WEST LONG BRANCH -- Monmouth University is keeping Woodrow Wilson Hall as the name of its historic administration building after examining concerns about the racist views held by the former president and New Jersey governor.

The university's board of trustees voted on Thursday to keep the name on the West Long Branch building but also said it would help educate the community about Wilson's legacy in connection with his racist views.

"I am proud that our entire board chose to proactively examine Wilson's legacy with the help of faculty, students, and staff members," said board chairman Henry Mercer. "From this we know that we have a responsibility to tell Wilson's full story - the good and bad. This provides a valuable learning opportunity for the Monmouth University community."

The demand for the excision of Wilson's name from academic buildings started last year at Princeton University, which Wilson headed for eight years before becoming New Jersey governor.

No demands or protests occurred at Monmouth University, but because of the movement at Princeton, university president Paul Brown decided in December the school should conduct its own examination, which included open forums, small group discussions, individual meetings, academic sessions and surveys, the school in a statement released on Friday.

The discussions involved faculty students and alumni, school officials said.

Despite the name on the hall - a former private mansion - Wilson never set foot in the building, which was constructed after his death.

Wilson used the previous mansion on that site as his summer residence during his 1916 reelection campaign. After that, it was known as the Summer White House, but was destroyed by fire in 1927.

The replacement mansion, built in 1929, was a private home until it fell into municipal ownership after the Depression and eventually became a private girls college. That school - Highland Junior College - first named the building Woodrow Wilson Hall. After Monmouth's predecessor - Monmouth Junior College - took over the school, it renamed the building The Great Hall. A decade later, the college reverted back to using the name Woodrow Wilson Hall.

"A very common refrain from our alumni was that while Wilson's racist views are abhorrent, he was a product of his time, and that judging the values of a previous era by our own standards could lead toward the path of erasing unpleasant facts of history, which is never an appropriate action for any academic institution," Brown said.

While he was a Nobel Prize winner, Wilson also endorsed the Ku Klux Klan and denied black students admission to Princeton while he was president.  He refused to allow blacks to be hired in his administration as governor and reinstituted segregation in federal jobs while he was president. He also believed blacks were unworthy of citizenship.

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a national historic landmark.

"Studying history allows you to learn from past mistakes and do better," Mercer said. "Understanding all the historical facts surrounding Wilson's views gives us a teaching tool to drive forward the university's core values of both diversity and excellence in teaching and learning. The work ahead is to promote tolerance and diversity on campus through open and honest dialogue."

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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