CHARLESTON — A committee assigned to reconsider changing the name of Eastern Illinois University's Douglas Hall is scheduled to meet on Thursday.
The university's Naming Committee is scheduled to take up EIU President David Glassman's charge to make a recommendation on the residence hall named for U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas and his debates with Abraham Lincoln.
Glassman announced the decision during the university Board of Trustees meeting in September, saying current issues concerning racial injustice warrant reconsideration of the issue, which has also been addressed in the past.
Also on the meeting's agenda is a proposed recommendation to change the name of the student art gallery at Doudna Fine Arts Center in honor of the late Glenn Hild. Hild's positions at EIU included chairman of the Art Department and Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities.
The committee's meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday and will be conducted remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A live video feed of the meeting will be available online at youtu.be/La8kj4TywhE.
The university's announcement of the meeting said anyone wanting to comment during the meeting must contact EIU Vice President for Advancement Ken Wetstein by 10 a.m. Thursday.
Instructions on joining the meeting will be available by calling 217-581-5129 or by emailing to kawestein@eiu.edu, it said. Written comments can be submitted by the same deadline, it also said.
Douglas Hall and its neighboring Lincoln Hall were named in recognition of the debates between Lincoln and Douglas in the 1858 U.S. Senate campaign. One of the series of debates took place at the Coles County Fairgrounds.
During the September Board of Trustees' meeting, Glassman said Douglas supported slavery and the naming of the residence hall was "never intended to commemorate that." He said the name is "contrary to EIU's values."
Several schools of higher learning, including Illinois State University, have moved to alter names representing slave holders and racists.
The committee will make a recommendation on whether to change the building's name and the actual decision will be up to the Board of Trustees.
There's no indication when the board might make that decision. The board's next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13.
Discussion of possibly changing the Douglas Hall name dates to 2010. It re-emerged three years ago when EIU's Faculty Senate voted to recommend to have a committee again consider the name.
Look back: Photos of Charleston's past
Ashmore Estate Psychiatric Hospital
1961: Ashmore Estates Psychiatric Hospital grand opening attracted more than 3,300 persons. Tours were conducted at the facility which adjoins Illinois 16 between Charleston and Ashmore. The hospital is set up to accommodate 25 patients. Eventually it is expected to have a staff of 30 to 35 persons.
Coles County Daily Times
1966: Coles County Daily Times near the square in Charleston.
Community Memorial Hospital
1957: Open house is being held in this new Charleston Community Memorial Hospital. Patients are to move in from Montgomery Hospital. The new structure, which can hold a maximum 54 bed patients, was built at a cost of about $750,000 and was financed by gifts from the public. The fund campaign was started off by a $50,000 donation. The site was also turned over to the Chamber of Commerce which has been a leader in community efforts to obtain a new hospital.
Country Club
1952: A large brown shingled clubhouse is the center of most activity at the Charleston Country club. The club is located three miles west of Charleston on route 16 and is open the year round.
Downtown Renovations
1984: Rick Childers (left), Bruce Deitz and Mark Witt plant a tree in downtown Charleston as part of streetscape renovations.
Food Pantry
1990: Volunteer Edith Roberts, chairman Mike Strader and volunteer Shirley Ensler have lots to do at the Charleston Food Pantry.
Haunted mansion
1991: An old oval photo shows the Charleston mansion long ago. The house was builtin 19853, the Victorian mansion on Jackson Street can trace its spooky lineage to the moment the first brick was laid.
High School
1928: new Charleston High School on Jan. 13, 1928.
Movie theater
1983: The Will Rogers theater has movie-goers line up early at these prices. The theater reopened after several months.
Water Supply Shortage
1940: Lifted from a pool in the Embarras River east of town, this six-inch stream from an emergency pump brought from St. Louis was being depended upon by Charleston to replenish the dwindling reserve in the city's intake reservoir.
