The IU Board of Trustees approved removing the name of IU's seventh president (David Starr Jordan, 1875-85) from the building, river, and parking garage on the IU Bloomington campus during its October 2, 2020, meeting. The decision to remove Jordan's name stemmed from his belief in and advocacy for eugenics.
A letter signed by members of the IU Biology faculty and sent to IU President Michael McRobbie in July was the catalyst for the name removal. Upon receipt of the letter, McRobbie formed a committee to review the request. After extensively researching the issue, the committee recommended anonymously to rename the building, river, and parking garage.
Jordan Hall will be known as Biology Building, Jordan River as Campus River, and Jordan Parking Garage as East Parking Garage. McRobbie recommended that these names remain in place for at least a year to allow thoughtful consideration of new names.
The College of Arts