One by one, members of the Board of Trustees at the University of Cincinnati unanimously voted to support divorcing UC from the former owner of the reds. Effective immediately, the board opted to remove the name of Marge Schott from the baseball stadium in Varsity Village as well as an archive library on campus. School President Neville Pinto says Mrs Schott's record of racism and bigotry stands at stark odds to the university's commitment to equity and inclusion. The Marge Schott Foundation donated $2 million to UC for construction of the stadium.
Here is a copy of the formal resolution approved by the Board unanimously:
We, the Board of Trustees, have committed to re-examining the use of Marge Schott’s name on our campus. We, the Board of Trustees, acknowledge the prudence of reviewing such naming decisions in light of the guiding principles and conceptual framework set forth in the report by the McMicken Working Group. We, the Board of Trustees, subscribe to the stated principle that “a tradition, practice or symbol deserves a presumption of continuity.” We also agree “the presumption of continuity can be overcome” when conditions demand it. Furthermore, we recognize individuals associated with a tradition, practice or symbol may have multiple legacies that do not always align. We, the Board of Trustees, believe the “University’s mission, responsibilities and core values are paramount,” and we “should take action when a tradition, practice or symbol has a significant detrimental effect on mission or core values.” We, the Board of Trustees, agree with President Pinto’s assessment that Marge Schott’s record of racism and bigotry stands at odds with University’s core commitment to dignity, equity and inclusion. We further agree that attempts to modify the name and its detrimental effects would be ineffective. We, the Board of Trustees, accept President Pinto’s recommendation to remove Marge Schott’s name from our baseball stadium as well as from a space in our archives library, effective immediately. We, the Board of Trustees, want to say, unequivocally, we stand with President Pinto and our campus community in our collective fight to end racism, inequality and indifference. The change we want to see starts with us. Lastly, we, the Board of Trustees, want to extend a special thanks to our student leaders, in addition to our faculty, staff, alumni and community partners, for their love of UC and for their courageous commitment to making our University a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Trustees of the University of Cincinnati, on this 23rd day of June 2020, approve the removal of Marge Schott’s name from our baseball stadium as well as from a space in our archives library, effective immediately.