The Eastern Naming Committee will meet Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. 

During the meeting Vice President of University Advancement Ken Wetstein will discuss a share-point folder for the committee.

New committee member Diane Burns will lead a discussion on survey questions and executive director of the Office of Inclusion and Academic Engagement Mona Davenport and Wetstein will lead a discussion on forum questions and formatting.

Forum dates will also be discussed.

Naming Committee Chair Angela Campbell will discuss a guest speaker idea.

During the last meeting held on Jan. 20 Sace Elder who formerly represented the Council of Chairs in the naming committee asked to recuse herself from the committee due to a conflict of interest.

Elder said she believed there was a conflict of interest because the history department has made clear they support a name change for Douglas Hall. 

Elder had brought up they possibility of a conflict of interest previously at the committee’s first meeting to begin the discussion of changing the hall’s name.

The department has written letters to University President David Glassman and to The Daily Eastern News expressing their support for a name change.

Wetstein and Elder agreed that it would be difficult for Elder to remain objective in the matter with her supporting a name change.

Elder recommended Burns replace her to represent the Council of Chairs in the meeting.

Wetstein also discussed the constituencies that need to be focused on in data collection.

He mentioned that some student groups will need to be represented in data collection including the Black Student Union, the Latin American Student Organization, the Residence Hall Association, Douglas Hall residents and Student Government. 

“These are particular student subgroups that we think will have a vested interest in weighing in or at least sharing their thoughts or giving the committee some feedback about the Douglas Hall name,” Wetstein said. 

He also said that faculty, staff, alumni and the Annuitants Association should be included in the discussion, as well as residents of Charleston and Coles County as a whole. 

Wetstein also mentioned the possibility of prospective students being a constituency.

“That would be one we would want to be really careful with because I’m sure our colleagues in Enrollment Management would not want us to be interacting with prospective students in a way that might complicate their choice of EIU for their college of education,” Wetstein said. 

He said that it is likely that the Naming Committee will have a recommendation near the end of the Spring semester. 

Those interested in giving public comment can do so by contacting Ken Wetstein, Vice President for University Advancement and the committee’s ex officio convener, at 581-5129 or at [email protected].

Corryn Brock and Luke Taylor can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].