Principles for Naming and Name Removal

Because names are significant assets, the Institute needs to understand as fully as possible the character of those whose names grace campus buildings. It is not enough to be an outstanding scientist or engineer, or a successful entrepreneur or professional. Individuals to be memorialized must also possess personal attributes and behavior that align fully with Caltech’s mission, its values, its Honor Code, and its aspirations.

To this end, in 2015, the Caltech Board of Trustees approved the Institute's Naming Policy created by what is now the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations as part of a suite of donor gift policies. Under this policy, "…the Institute reserves the right to revoke a naming if any of the following conditions occurs." Primarily, if "the donor's character or reputation for honesty, personal integrity, and personal and professional ethics is no longer consistent with the mission of the Institute," or "if the name will bring discredit to the Institute and/or is not consistent with the mission of the Institute."

In December 2020, The Committee on Naming and Recognition, appointed by President Thomas F. Rosenbaum, unanimously recommended a set of principles for naming and name removal that it considered consistent with the Institute's Naming Policy and attentive to the Institute's mission statement, values, Honor Code, and aspirations.

Naming principles

Relevance: The Institute should honor exemplary individuals, and concepts, relevant to its history, to its present mission, values, and Honor Code, and to its future aspirations.
Inclusivity: Naming should strive to reflect the Institute's aim to forge a diverse and inclusive community of excellence.
Revisability: While names are meant to be durable, the Institute should always reserve the right to review their appropriateness in the future.

Name removal principles

Exceptionality of circumstance: A presumption against the removal of a name exists, especially if the individual is central to Institute history. To consider a name for removal, the circumstances must be exceptional.
Evidence of significant breach of Caltech's core commitments: A name should be considered for removal when, even alongside great contributions, evidence comes forth of attributes and behavior within or outside the Institute contrary to Caltech's mission, values, Honor Code, and aspirations. The totality of the person matters: outstanding success in a part of one's life does not outweigh significant ethical breaches.
Consideration of Caltech's future: If removing a name is deemed to help Caltech's future substantially, and not removing a name is deemed to endanger Caltech's future substantially, the name should be removed. Aspects of the past encoded in a name that threaten the Institute's present and future should be recognized, cited, and addressed to avert damage to Caltech's community and to its reputation.
Historical transparency: The removal of a name is not intended to erase history. It should simultaneously create opportunities for education and advancement for the Caltech community and the public. The Institute should document and communicate both the reasons an individual warranted memorialization and the reasons the memorial was revoked. Respect for an individual's work, disappointment with their beliefs or actions, and recognition of the harm imparted can all exist simultaneously in collective memory.

Furthermore, the Committee on Naming and Recognition noted that name removal is not recommended as an option when the honoree is found only to be earnestly incorrect about their science. Caltech must continue to be a place where hypotheses and ideas are fully explored, and where even theories that ultimately are proved wrong have passionate, tireless advocates determined to question dominant paradigms.