Despite protests from students and faculty of George Mason University, the institution is gearing up to rename the school after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The George Mason Law School will be renamed to Antonin Scalia Law School. The renaming was largely supported by conservative donors of the university.
George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
George Mason University, a public university in Virginia has made the name change of its law school official. Antonin Scalia Law School is named after recently deceased conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The resolution was voted for unanimously by The State Council for Higher Education for Virginia, The Washington Post reported.
George Mason University renames Antonin Scalia School of Law after acronym issue https://t.co/NhCJHi0lMY pic.twitter.com/bQ1ilZYEoA
— CNN (@CNN) April 9, 2016
George Mason University Staff and Students Object Antonin Scalia's Conservative Justice
George Mason University staff and students protested that renaming the law school in honor of Scalia will change perceptions of the university to conservative justice. They countered that this would contradict the educational aims and objectives of the George Mason University law school.
A petition for those who did not support the name change has received more than 1,200 signatures, NBC News noted. George Mason University law school senior associate dean David Rehr believes that the name change will "ruin" the public low-cost law school. Those who wish to embody Antonin Scalia's conservative justice might train their eyes on Geroge Mason University's law school for the wrong reasons.
However, the George Mason University administration went ahead with the name change, New York Times shared. The Antonin Scalia Law School name change can be greenlighted even without the council's approval. Hefty donations from conservative donors prompted the controversial at George Mason University. The George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School will take official effect on July 1.
A $30 million check was donated by the Charles Koch Foundation and an anonymous one. George Mason University plans to use the gift for new faculty staff, scholarships, buildings within Law and Economics Center.
