UC Davis Hopes To Inspire With Renaming Gallagher Hall

By Shawn Binder on May 23, 2013

Recently, the Allegiant Flight Attendants launched an ad and website in order to push forward with the movement to rename Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall at University of California, Davis Business School. Their ultimate goal in renaming this building is to, “-set an example for future business leaders.” One idea that the campaign is pushing is that the main classroom building at a university should reflect on someone who has a solid reputation and high standards, as well as business excellent. The movement hopes to inspire future business leaders with a sense of pride through the nomination of a potential candidate whose name would replace “Gallagher Hall.” Those involved have been inviting students actively to suggest a candidate at www.RenameGallagherHall.org.

I’ve spent most of my college career at Florida State University weaving in and out of buildings, scarcely thinking much of their names besides whether or not my writing workshop was in the Williams Building, or the HCB. It is a common trend at universities to name buildings after people who are influential in the college community. Sometimes, this “influence” comes from people who have donated vast sums of money in order to fund the building projects that erect these classroom structures. At other times, they’re named after people who have contributed in academic ways to the collegiate community. At UC Davis, officials hope to take the second route and select those who set the best example in the business industry, and use their name in order to rename Gallagher Hall on campus.

I imagine compiling a list of professors and workers at my university and selecting out of this list the people who have been such an influential part of my education. Then, I wondered how I would feel about the buildings I actively learn in, had they been named after these people. Instantly, a wave of pride washed over me. If this were the case, I would be learning how to weave a narrative in a building named after the first woman who was brutally blunt about how the writing world works. Also, I would be studying literature in a building named after the woman who first taught me how sarcastic Jane Austen was in her writing, and how in turn an author can be clever with their distain for society.

Personally, I believe this is an incredible step UC Davis is taking in order to improve the overall inclusionary feeling that a college campus is supposed to provide. It would be an incredible experience to be able to take college classes in a building where I knew of the prestigious person it was named after. A large part of going to a university is to you can feel inspired and this would be an incredible way for students and faculty to feel a part of their campus. By helping to select the name of the building, students will feel a sense of pride for their campus that may not have been accessible to them previously.

Thom McDaniel, International Vice President of the Transport Workers Union stated “We should name buildings after people who deliver value to customers and the communities they serve, while also representing the best values of the University of California.” Perhaps the best way for the community to give back to those who serve is for them to select the few who’s values they uphold the most and venerate them. Perhaps the movement at UC Davis will launch other colleges to seek out new names for their buildings in the hopes of honoring those who help build up their university.

For a further look, take a glance at their press release! Any other information on this campaign can be found by visiting www.RenameGallagherHall.org or looking for their ads in the UC Davis newspaper The California Aggie.

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