Pennsylvania liberal arts college drops professors name from campus building after he excavated Native American burial site

A Pennsylvania liberal arts college has removed a college professor’s name from a campus building after it emerged he excavated a Native American burial site – but critics say the move is revisionist. Swarthmore College scrubbed Spencer Trotter’s name from its Trotter Hall building after learning he dug up the site in 1899 and put remains on display on campus, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.Trotter, who was part of the college’s biology department, promoted racial hierarchy in his works – which scholars have determined to be “scientific racism.”Valerie Smith, the college’s president, revealed in December last year that Trotter Hall and Trotter Lawn would be renamed after an 18-month investigation.The hall has been temporarily named “Old Science Hall” and a permanent name will be announced in the fall.Smith said the name change “is not merely a matter of renaming spaces” and acknowledged it may be divisive.“It is an acknowledgment of harm, a commitment to learn from our past, and an affirmation of our responsibility to care for the stories and legacies held on this campus,” she said. “I recognize that this news may stir a range of difficult emotions and concerns.”The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in April 2022 that two university professors excavated a Lenape burial ground, but didn’t mention Trotter by name. The site was donated to the Delaware Nation tribe for just $1 and this process was completed in March 2022.It’s the only officially-recognized Native American burial ground in Chester County.The university uncovered that Trotter was one of the professors and Smith said in May 2023 that the reports required the university to “reflect on and confront our past.”She said university officials were not able to identify how long the remains had been on campus – or where they were stored. “Our work to try to answer those questions is ongoing.

And none of these facts change the distressing truth that more than 120 yea...