--- title: Yale Renames Calhoun College For Connection to Slavery description: Yale University will rename the Calhoun College residence hall — a decision that follows protests calling for the removal of the name canonical: https://time.com/4668029/yale-renames-calhoun-college/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-11T20:52:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:16:20.568Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Yale Renames Calhoun College After Protests Over Connection to Slavery og:description: John C. Calhoun had called slavery a "positive good" og:url: https://time.com/4668029/yale-renames-calhoun-college/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt079c1818c995342e/6988b9cd8fd2ee6bc3355c00/yale-calhoun-college.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Higher Learning og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Yale Renames Calhoun College After Protests Over Connection to Slavery twitter:description: John C. Calhoun had called slavery a "positive good" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt079c1818c995342e/6988b9cd8fd2ee6bc3355c00/yale-calhoun-college.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Yale Renames Calhoun College After Protests Over Connection to Slavery  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 11, 2017 8:52 PM CUT  Yale University's Calhoun College Yale University's Calhoun CollegeKathryn Donohew/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 11, 2017 8:52 PM CUT Yale University announced Saturday that it will rename the Calhoun College residence hall — a decision that follows over a year of protests [calling for the removal](http://time.com/4435928/yale-race/ "undefined") of the name of John C. Calhoun, a Yale alumnus who called slavery a “positive good.” Yale’s Board of Trustees initially voted in April to keep the name. At the time, Yale President Peter Salovey voiced concerns that removing it would mean “masking” history. But the trustees reversed their decision on Friday, [the Hartford _Courant_](http://www.courant.com/education/hc-yale-changing-calhoun-residence-hall-name-20170210-story.html "undefined") reported. “I made the decision because I think it is the right thing to do on principle,” Salovey said in a phone interview with reporters Saturday morning, [according to the _Courant_](http://www.courant.com/education/hc-yale-changing-calhoun-residence-hall-name-20170210-story.html "undefined"). “Judging Calhoun’s principles and legacy as an ardent supporter of slavery as a positive good are at odds with the values of this university.” The residence hall will now be named after Grace Murray Hopper, a Yale alumna and computer scientist. Yale is among many universities that have faced calls by students and alumni to [acknowledge their historical ties to slavery](http://time.com/4143877/history-student-activism/ "undefined"). In 2015, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill renamed a building that had been named after a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Princeton University has faced pressure to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name. And Georgetown last year[ released a report](http://time.com/4475719/georgetown-descendants-slaves-admissions/ "undefined") about its own ties to slavery. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4668029/yale-renames-calhoun-college/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4668029/yale-renames-calhoun-college/"},"headline":"Yale Renames Calhoun College After Protests Over Connection to Slavery","datePublished":"2017-02-11T20:52:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:16:20.568Z","description":"John C. 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