University Naming Policy
Indiana University
Policy and Procedures
Naming of University Grounds and Facilities and the
All University Committee on Names
June 2, 2006
(Download a Naming Request Form (PDF file)
Purpose of the Policy
This policy establishes uniform guidelines and procedures for the naming of Indiana University grounds, facilities and schools. It rests on a foundation built and nurtured by University Chancellor Herman B Wells, who throughout his life repeated his conviction that the very environment of a college campus should provide an aesthetic and education dimension. He believed that wherever the eye rested, it should see something beautiful, something uplifting. He wanted students to see new worlds C even if they didn’t always understand what they were looking at or realize its significance. He extended that philosophy to the namings of grounds and facilities, reminding the university family that to attach a name to a building or a facility was to make a decision that would endure as long as the building stood. He urged that the utmost care go into the selection of a name. This policy is written in accord with that sensibility.
This policy is primarily concerned with the naming of “bricks and mortar” – buildings, facilities and grounds. Although it includes the naming of schools, it does not pertain to the naming of academic degrees or programs, centers and institutes. The majority of those decisions rests with the Executive Vice President and Chancellor of the IUPUI Campus and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bloomington, both of whom may consult with the Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, the president of the IU Foundation who serves as the Chief Development Officer, and the President of the University when a proposed naming is gift-based or commemorative.
Administration of the Policy
The administration of this policy is delegated by the President of the University to the Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, who chairs The All University Committee on Names. The forerunner of today’s committee was created by Dr. Wells during his tenure as president of Indiana University.
Goals of the Policy
The naming procedures at Indiana University are designed to accomplish one, or both, of two goals:
- To acknowledge personal achievements and/or the intellectual, financial, service or other contributions made by an individual or individuals to the university – Commemorative Namings.
- To identify facilities for administrative purposes – Administrative Namings
Authority for Namings
Most Administrative Namings and Commemorative Namings of minor interior spaces, such as individual rooms (e.g., reading rooms, conference rooms, labs), small suites or hallways, may be approved by the Vice President without further action. Should the Vice President wish to have the Committee on Names advise him/her on a particular request for naming an interior space, s/he may forward it to the committee for action.
Major Commemorative Namings, e.g. buildings, roads, plazas and other significant structures, must be approved by the President of the University, the Committee on Names, and the Board of Trustees.
The All University Committee on Names
The All UniversityCommittee on Names is appointed annually by the President of the University and is chaired by the Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. Committee members come from throughout the entire university, and include, but are not limited to, representatives of the:
1. Faculty
2. Staff
3. Students
4. IU Alumni Association
5. IU Foundation
6. Regional campuses
7. Board of Trustees
8. University Administration
General Naming Requirements
All naming requests must be submitted in writing to the Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. Supporting documentation, including a Naming Request Form, a description of the accomplishments of any proposed honoree, and a description and history of the facility to be named, must accompany the request.
Anyone wishing to pursue a Commemorative Naming of a major facility must obtain the permission of his or her dean, his or her chancellor or provost, and the President of the University to proceed.
All other Commemorative Naming requests must have the approval of the head of the academic/administrative unit from which it originates, and the chancellor or provost of the campus. The preferred path of submission is: Dean à Chancellor or Provost à Vice President for Administration à Committee on Names à President and, if required, Board of Trustees.
The Vice President and/or the Committee on Name’s Subcommittee on Research will conduct any appropriate research and will confirm that the name is appropriate to the use of the facility. The Vice President and/or the Committee on Names may suggest alternatives.
A minimum of three months should be allowed for the processing of naming requests. Questions concerning commemorative naming requests may be directed to the Vice President.
In order to maintain an official record of names approved for grounds and facilities, all namings, including Administrative Namings, must be reported to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, using the appropriate forms.
Construction and Working Namings:
All structures and facilities are assigned working names early in the life of a design/construction project by the University Architect’s Office. These working names should be communicated to the IU Bureau of Facilities Programming and Utilization, which will submit them via Naming Request form to the Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. The Vice President may choose to take working names to the Naming Committee on an informational basis.
Many times, the working name becomes an administrative name so all due care should be taken in selecting the name to avoid needless changes in the future. Other times, the working name becomes a placeholder for a Commemorative Name or a Gift-Based Name
Administrative Namings
Administrative naming requests typically do not involve the name of a person, but help define the use of a facility, such as the Fee Lane Parking Garage, Botany Greenhouse, Biology Lab or Service Building. Such requests should be submitted to the Vice President for Administration early in the design and construction process, when possible, or when the facility is acquired. Routine Administrative Namings may be circulated via email.
If an administrative name was not decided upon during construction and did not originate within the office of the University Architect or the Office of the Vice President for Administration, then the preferred path of submission is: Dean à Chancellor or Provost à Vice President.
Commemorative Namings
The naming or renaming of a building, or other facility, after a person is a high honor, reserved for those who have made extraordinary contributions to Indiana University. Commemorative namings may take one of two forms: honoring those who have played a significant role in the life of Indiana University or those who made substantial financial contributions to the University, usually to a particular facility.
In weighing a nomination, the Committee on Names seeks to recognize those individuals who exemplify some of the best Hoosier values: integrity, honesty, courage and intellectual curiosity. The committee will also place high among its priorities the names of those individuals who have been staunch advocates of the pursuit of knowledge and the enhancement of higher education.
The Committee will maintain a list of key individuals, such as prominent alumni, faculty, administrators, and others serving the university with distinction for whom it would be appropriate to name a facility. Every effort should be made to avoid duplication; a proposed name may not be in use elsewhere at Indiana University.
Priority will be given to names that are particularly appropriate to the structure; e.g., the naming of graduate residence halls for deceased faculty members who are recognized for their interest in graduate study.
An effort will be made to seek clusters of related names, such as the naming of individual units of the John W. Foster Quadrangle for alumni who achieved renown in the diplomatic field.
On occasion, temporary names will be selected as “place-holders” for commemorative names. Such place-holders will be treated as administrative namings.
It is the preference of the Board of Trustees that academic buildings not carry the names of corporations.
Buildings may not be named for current employees of Indiana University, even when a gift has been made or pledged.
Buildings may not be named for any living elected official currently in office or retired. The five-year rule applies to those who have died. Interior spaces may be named for retired elected officials.
The Five-Year Rule
In general, for major facilities, there will be a five-year waiting period after the death of any individual before considering his or her name for commemoration in naming a major facility. The five-year delay was instituted by Dr. Wells to ensure that buildings were not precipitously named in the first emotional outpourings after the death of a public figure. He preferred a more contemplative process to safeguard the reputation of both the individual and the institution, and to eliminate overlap and duplication of namings. At his request, this rule was observed in the naming of the Herman B Wells Library.
The Committee may entertain requests that small spaces, such as rooms, suites and labs, be named for members of the faculty or staff after their retirement, waiving the restriction of waiting five years after death.
Donor-Based Namings
The generosity of friends and donors has enabled the university to fund the construction of many facilities that it might not have been able to build otherwise. And funds from naming gifts for existing facilities may also support other activities and projects, such as academic programs, scholarships, ongoing building maintenance and other university activities. Naming gifts for existing buildings may also provide the university with an invaluable resource: endowment funds to ensure the ongoing support of the classrooms, labs, research facilities or educational activities that take place in that building.
Anyone wishing to pursue a gift-based naming opportunity must obtain the permission of his or her dean and chancellor or provost – and, when appropriate (e.g., major facilities, schools), the President of the University – to proceed. In addition, a complete gift schedule must be in place and approved by the Chief Development Officer before any prospective donor is approached.
Likewise, when a donor approaches the university to propose a possible naming opportunity, approval of the chancellor or provost, the chief development officer and, when appropriate (e.g., major facilities, schools), the President of the University – must be secured before any commitment is made.
The Vice President for Administration shall appoint a Donor Related Subcommittee, whose membership will include the president of the IU Foundation who serves as the Chief Development Officer of the University. The subcommittee may invite consultants as needed for a particular discussion to supply basic or pertinent information.
The subcommittee will review all recommended solicitation parameters as they apply to designated areas of a planned building and/or the building itself. The major reconstruction of a building to house new functions may undergo the same naming procedures.
When no pre-assignment of parameters has been made, and approval is needed to offer prospective donors an opportunity to commemorate a person or persons of their choice, the subcommittee will receive the proposal and pass on it expeditiously. In either instance, the action of the subcommittee shall be forwarded to the Committee on Names.
The following guidelines will be used in considering naming proposals for buildings:
1. New Construction
If state or federal funds or fees are being applied to the cost of construction, then a gift must total at least one-half of the amount that is to be raised from the private sector for a naming opportunity to be considered. If no state or federal funds are available, then a gift must cover one-half of the total construction cost to qualify for naming consideration.
2. Existing Facilities
The naming and the funding levels of existing buildings will be considered by the Naming Committee on a case-by-case basis. The proposed naming opportunity, the amount being requested to name it, and the name to be placed on the facility must be submitted for approval to the All University Committee on Names before the solicitation occurs.
The following guidelines will be used in considering naming proposals for small and/or interior spaces:
1. New Construction
The campus, school or unit that is building a project will submit to the Chief Development Officer and the All University Committee on Names a detailed plan outlining naming opportunities and proposed funding levels for the various spaces in the project. The plan must be approved by the CDO and the committee before a fund-raising campaign is announced or a solicitation inaugurated.
2. Existing Spaces
The CDO and the All University Committee on Names will establish minimum gift levels for the naming of interior spaces, such as classrooms, deans’ offices, faculty offices, lounges, labs, atriums and auditoriums, with the understanding that certain spaces must carry higher contribution requirements, owing to location, traffic in the facility, etc.
A schedule of gift levels is available in the office of the CDO.
The naming of existing spaces will require advance approval of the All University Committee on Names only when an exception is being requested or special circumstances exist. However, advance notification of a solicitation must be given whether or not formal approval is required.
The following guidelines will be used in considering naming proposals for deferred or estate gifts:
1. New Facilities
Owing to cash-flow considerations associated with new construction and renovation projects, only current gifts, including pledges to be paid over a period of time up to five years, are acceptable for naming purposes.
2. Existing Facilities/Spaces
Namings of existing facilities and/or spaces based on deferred gifts will only be carried out when the gift is actually realized. Until that point is reached, the naming will be viewed as a reserved opportunity. If a second donor expresses interest in pursuing the same naming opportunity, the first donor shall be given right of first refusal. If a donor requests that a naming based on a deferred gift occur currently, a percent of the total deferred gift – to be determined on a case-by-case basis and approved by the Naming Committee in advance of the solicitation – must be paid on a current basis, up to a five-year pledge period.
Removal of Names
Occasionally, a named building is either demolished or given over to a new use. Although this is a rare occurrence, donors should be made aware that it is not outside the realm of possibility. In such an event, the Chief Development Officer, the dean and the campus chancellor or provost shall review the circumstances and strive to find a solution that will enable a gift to be used in a manner that coincides with the donor's(s') original intent as closely as possible, and which is consistent with the mission and needs of the university.
The university reserves the right to withdraw from a naming agreement if the name of an individual or organization, which has been bestowed upon a facility, comes into disrepute in the University or in the general community.
Click here to download a Naming Request Form (PDF file).
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