UT panel to review dorm name

AUSTIN (AP) - The University of Texas has appointed a 19-member panel to recommend whether a dormitory named for a former professor who was a Ku Klux Klan member should be renamed.

Entering UT student Vivian Renee Esparza said, "I mean it's not right."

UT student Ben Urick said, "It's inappropriate in this day and age."

Simkins Hall is now in a nationwide spotlight. And with vocal voices standing up against it's name, the university has taken steps of it's own.

UT's Vice President for diversity and community engagement's Dr. Gregory Vincent said, "I think we have a great group. I think they're very thoughtful."

He said, "My hope would be that we have some consensus around a recommendation."

UT student and President of the Black Student Alliance Kristen Thompson says, "I'm all for renaming it, I know it's a feasible task....that's why I'm on the task force."

Kristen Thompson is one of a handful of students picked by the University. Together, she, along with the other students, will join a diverse group of UT professors, staff members, alumni and civic leaders from around the community.

Thompson said, "It's important. If it does get renamed, it's definitely going to be a staple because renaming a building doesn't happen often. They usually have to be torn down and rebuilt. And if it doesn't get renamed, the controversy and issue will always be something that we use as a learning tool for future students."

Dr. Vincent said, "I think what we're finding is that the campus community is concerned about making this a welcoming and inclusive environment. And we want to make sure that there are no impediments that inclusive environment."

The review board will meet 4 times behind close doors. They're hoping to have a recommendation or a set of recommendations by the end of June.

Afterwards, the panel will make those recommendations to UT President William Powers Jr. .  That recommendation must then be approved by the UT Board of Regents.

Simkins Residence Hall opened in 1955 and was named for William Stewart Simkins . He taught at UT's Law School for 30 years until his death in 1929.

He was a leader of the Klan in Florida after the Civil War.

The 19 panel members are:

• Dr. Gregory J. Vincent, Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement, Advisory Work Group Chair
• Dr. Sherri L. Sanders, Deputy to the Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement, Advisory Work Group Convener
• Dr. Charles Akins, former Austin Independent School District Associate Superintendent for Development and Community Partnerships and civic leader
• Mr. Nathan Bunch, President, Latino Pan-Hellenic Council and Administrative Director, Student Government
• Mr. Hector De Leon, Founder and managing partner of De Leon & Washburn, P.C., past president of the Texas Exes, Division of Diversity and Community Engagement Advisory Council Chair
• Mr. Manuel Gonzalez, Head Resident, Simkins Residence Hall and President, Graduate Student Assembly
• Dr. Edmund T. Gordon, Chair, Department of African and African American Diaspora Studies and Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
• Ms. Katherine Antwi Green, Director of Equal Opportunity Services
• Dr. Michele Guzmán, Assistant Vice President for Diversity Education
• Ms. Choquette Hamilton, Executive Director, Student Diversity Initiatives and Director, Multicultural Information Center
• Dr. Steven Hoelscher, Chair, Department of American Studies and Professor, Departments of American Studies and Geography
• Ms. Muneezeh Kabir, Vice President, Student Government
• Mr. Sanford Levinson, W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law, School of Law
• Dr. Alba Ortiz, President’s Chair for Education Academic Excellence, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Office of Bilingual Education
• Dr. Deborah Paredez, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre and Dance
• Mr. Scott Parks, President, Student Government
• Dr. Soncia Reagins-Lilly, Senior Associate Vice President, Office of the Dean of Students and Dr. Doug Garrard, Senior Associate Dean of Students, Office of the Dean of Students will share duty on the advisory group.
• Ms. Latonya (L.T.) Robinson, Area Coordinator, Division of Housing and Food Service and President, Black Faculty and Staff Association
• Ms. Smita Ruzicka, Associate Director for Greek Life and Intercultural Education
• Ms. Kristin Thompson, President, Black Student Alliance