UNC renaming two campus buildings in diversity push

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is renaming two of its dormitories and its student affairs offices — the latter of which will honor the first American Indian and person of color to be enrolled at the school.

The student affairs building will be renamed after Henry Owl, who enrolled at the University of North Carolina in 1928. Owl, who received a master’s degree in history from the school, made history by attempting to register to vote two years later. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the university also said a dormitory building will be named after Hortense McClinton, who was the first Black person hired to be a professor at the university’s school of social work.

During her 18-year tenure, McClinton taught courses on casework, human development, family therapy and institutional racism.

McClinton “also helped to establish the predecessor organization to the Carolina Black Caucus and worked with various units on campus to improve services for students with disabilities,” the statement said. 

This school in 2020 removed the names of Charles Brantley Aycock and Julian Carr from the two buildings.

The student affairs building had been named after Carr, who fought for the Confederacy and was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, according to WRAL.com 

The Aycock residency hall had been named after a former North Carolina governor who had backed white supremacy, WRAL reported.

“The names add diversity to the landscape and advance the first Carolina Next strategic initiative, Build Our Community Together, by promoting belonging throughout the University community,” the university said in a statement about the new names.