“It became evident that renaming Calhoun College could have the effect of hiding the legacy of slavery.”

Inside Higher Ed reports.

Yale will keep Calhoun name on residential college and drop use of term “master”

Yale University announced Wednesday that it will keep John C. Calhoun’s name on one of its residential colleges. The announcement follows much campus debate, with critics saying that it was inappropriate to honor a man who was one of the leading advocates in Congress for slavery in the United States.

At the same time, Yale announced that it would follow the lead of other colleges in ending use of the term “master” to describe those who lead residential colleges. Going forward, those in the position will be called “head of college.”

During last semester’s wave of student protests, Yale experienced numerous complaints both about the Calhoun name and the term “master.” While the Calhoun name has surfaced as an issue previously, this time it was subject to a lengthy study.

A statement from Yale Thursday night, announcing the decision, said that “it became evident that renaming Calhoun College could have the effect of hiding the legacy of slavery.”