George Mason Faculty Balk At Renaming Law School After Scalia

The faculty of George Mason University voted 25-12 on a resolution asking the university to delay indefinitely renaming the law school to honor late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The University’s president released a statement the day before the vote defending the move—and the $30 million in donations that would come along with it. The faculty questioned how that $30 million would be used, including whether the donors would have undue influence over the school’s mission, and said the donation and renaming could generate negative publicity. More than 100 professors at George Mason have signed a petition condemning both the Scalia name, and the ultra-conservative social mores he represented.