A campus of The California State University
Office of the Academic Senate • One Washington Square • San Jose, California 95192-0024 • 408-924-2440 • Fax 408-924-2410
S00-3
At its meeting of April 17, 2000, the Academic Senate passed the following Policy Recommendation presented by Bethany Shifflett for the Executive Committee.
POLICY RECOMMENDATION
NAMING OF CAMPUS FACILITIES AND PROPERTIES AT
SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY
| Whereas: | The existing policy regulating the naming of campus facilities has become obsolete since the issuance of a Trustees Action in July 1999 which changes criteria for the naming of campus facilities and properties as well as features in and around buildings, and delegates to the Chancellor the authority to approve temporary namings; and |
| Whereas: | Naming proposals to honor individuals and organizations who have had a significant impact on the University should be guided by campus policy; and |
| Whereas: | San José State should have a campus policy to provide for an orderly, fair, expeditious, and collegial review of proposals to name campus facilities and properties, within the framework established by the July 1999 Trustee Action; now therefore, be it |
| Resolved: | That the attached document, "Policies and Procedures for Naming of Facilities and Properties at San José State University" be University Policy, effective immediately upon Presidential signature. |
ACTION BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT:
Policy and Procedures for Naming of Facilities and Properties
at San Jose State University
1.0 Purpose
| 1.1 The purpose of this policy is to
provide for an orderly, fair, expeditious, and collegial
review of proposals to name campus facilities and
properties, within the framework established by the July
1999 Trustee Action. A separate policy (S00-4) exists
regarding the naming of schools, colleges, and other
academic entities. 1.2 The naming of campus facilities and properties presents opportunities for the advancement of the interests of San Jose State University. It is important, however, that a campus process assure that names are bestowed only when they serve the University's long-term interests, and only when they reflect the values of higher education and San Jose State University in particular. Since naming opportunities are generally finite in number and permanent in duration they must be considered with special care and deliberation. |
2.0 Authority
| 2.1 Facilities and properties. The Board
of Trustees of the CSU has retained the authority to name
facilities and properties. Facilities and properties are
defined as all buildings; major portions of buildings;
university or college streets or roads; stadium and
baseball fields and other areas of major assembly or
activity; plazas, malls and other large areas of campus
circulation; and all other highly visible facilities and
properties. While the Board possesses final authority to name facilities and properties, no proposal to name such a facility will be sent forward from this campus without obtaining preliminary campus approval as indicated in this policy. 2.2 Features in and around buildings. The Board has delegated to the Chancellor, who has delegated to the University President, the authority to name individual rooms, limited areas and individual items or features within buildings, individual landscape items or features, limited outdoor areas, and other minor properties.
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3.0 Criteria for Selection of Names. A name of a CSU facility or property presented for Trustee approval must honor an individual or an organization and must meet the following criteria:
3.1 When a donor gift is involved:
3.1.1 It is desirable for the CSU to name facilities and properties in honor of significant contributors of funds to the university.
3.1.2 The Board will take into consideration the significance and amount of the proposed gift as either or both relate to the realization or completion of a facility of property or the enhancement of a facility's or property's usefulness to the university.
3.1.3 Facilities and properties may be named for individuals or organizations responsible for a "substantial gift" benefiting The California State University. The term "substantial gift" in this context is deliberately not defined by arbitrary standards or by a specific dollar amount. Its interpretation is meant to be flexible so that each situation may be judged on its own merits and may take into account significant contributions of personal services as well as monetary or in-kind gifts. It is expected that each naming opportunity will recognize the donor according to the level of gift and size of facility.
3.1.4 A donor gift can provide the funding for that portion of the total cost which would not have been available from any other source (such as federal or state loans or appropriations, student fees, bond issues, etc.)
3.2 In a rare instance, when no donor gift is involved
3.2.1 It should honor a person who has achieved unique distinction in higher education and other significant areas of public service, or who has served the CSU in an academic capacity and earned a national or international reputation as a scholar, or who has served the CSU in an administrative capacity and who, during administrative service, made extraordinary contributions to a CSU campus or the system which warrant special recognition.
3.2.2 When a proposal for naming in honor of an individual involves service to the university in an academic or administrative capacity, a proposal shall not be made until the individual has been retired or deceased at least two years.
3.2.3 No more than one facility or property in the system shall be named after any one individual.
3.2.4 No facility or property will be named after seated elected or appointed officials.
3.3 In special circumstances, the Board of Trustees may waive any or all of the above criteria.
3.4 Campus criteria. All proposals for naming any facility or property (temporary or permanent) must, in addition to the Trustees' criteria, meet the following campus criteria:
3.4.1 The naming committee will take into consideration the likelihood of the name being broadly accepted by the campus.
3.4.2 When naming for a person or organization, that person or organization should be associated with ethical behavior that has served the public interest. Namings should be particularly scrutinized to ensure that the individual or organization has not engaged in activities including but not limited to illegal discrimination, fraud, exploitative labor practices, environmental violations, and anti-trust violations.
3.4.3 When naming for a person or organization, names with a high degree of association with San Jose State University, such as campus leaders, graduates, employers of graduates, and local companies, should generally be preferred to those with lower degrees of affiliation with SJSU.
3.4.4 This policy should be used over time to lead to the naming of facilities of San Jose State University in a balanced manner, reflecting the functions of the property, reflecting natural/geographic features of the area, reflecting the traditional themes of the University, honoring diverse individuals and organizations for service to SJSU and the CSU, and recognizing gifts to the University.
3.4.5 Permanency of names.
3.4.5.1 As a general rule, when a gift from an individual or family is involved, a facility receives a designation that lasts the lifetime of the facility. Demolition of a facility, however, ends its official name, although the old name would then be available for naming a different facility.
3.4.5.2 In those rare circumstances when a name is to be removed from an existing facility, approval must be sought through exactly the same procedures as are required for naming a facility.
3.4.5.3 As a general rule, when a gift from a corporation is involved, the
naming will be temporary and last a period of time to be negotiated
between the university and the donor. The naming may be extended by the
President after consultation with the Executive Committee.
3.4.5.4 A temporary name may be designated only for a substantial financial contribution to the University. Written evidence should accompany such a request documenting that the designation of a temporary name is in the long-term financial interests of SJSU, and that the award of a temporary name will not lessen the potential benefit from a permanent name. In addition, a temporary name must comply with all the regular criteria of a permanent name, and must follow the same process for approval.
3.4.6 In special circumstances, the President, in consultation with the Executive Committee, may waive any or all of the above criteria.
4.0 Procedures
4.1 Proposals. Proposals for naming any property or facility (temporary or permanent) may be initiated by any university office/unit, university organization, or the Senate Executive Committee.
4.1.1 The proposal shall be formulated in accordance with the criteria set forth in this policy and shall include a detailed justification for the proposed name.
4.1.2 The VP for Advancement should screen proposals and verify that there is no conflict with other names on campus or in the CSU.
4.1.3 All proposals shall be submitted to the Vice President for University Advancement. Proposals unrelated to donor recognition will be forwarded to the Executive Assistant to the President.
4.2 Screening. The Vice President for University Advancement will decide whether any given proposal related to donor recognition minimally meets the criteria outlined in this policy. The Executive Assistant to the President will do the same for proposals unrelated to donor recognition. If proposals do not meet minimal criteria, the proposal advances no further.
4.3 Naming Committees. The VP for Advancement or Executive Assistant to the President, as needed depending on the nature of the proposal, will convene a special administrative "Naming Committee" to evaluate the proposal. This administrative committee will be Chaired by the VP for University Advancement or Executive Assistant to the President and shall include the Chair of the Campus Planning Board, Director of Planning Design and Construction, two faculty members (preferably members of the Senate) who are affiliated with the facility in question, and when the Executive Committee deems it appropriate, given the nature of the naming, a student or students recommended by the Executive Committee. The Naming Committee will determine whether the proposal should advance. If so, it will forward its recommendation to the Senate Executive Committee
4.4 Executive Committee. The Vice President for Advancement or Executive Assistant to the President will be invited to present the recommendation from their Naming Committee to the Senate Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will recommend whether the proposal should be adopted. If the recommendation is negative, then the proposal advances no further.
4.5 Senate and Presidential Action. In the case of proposals to name facilities or property (temporary or permanent), a positive recommendation from the Executive Committee will result in the executive committee proposing a Senate Policy Recommendation to the full Senate recommending the naming. If the full Senate approves, and the President approves, then the President should seek Trustee's approval. Once Trustees' approval is obtained, the President should then sign the Policy Recommendation that makes campus action official.
4.6 Presidential Action. In the case of proposals to name features in and around buildings, a positive recommendation from the Executive Committee will result in the executive committee recommending to the President that the naming be authorized.
4.7 Explanation of rejection. At any level when a proposal is declined, a prompt memo of explanation will be issued by the declining person (body) and returned to originator of the proposal and any approving bodies.
5.0 Confidentiality
5.1 Confidentiality is to be maintained throughout the process of evaluating any proposals for naming campus facilities and properties, including explanations of rejection as well as decisions of approval.
5.2 All committee meetings will be held in executive session. All memos will be marked "confidential".
5.3 When the Senate deliberates on a proposal, the Senate will enter into Executive session. The Vice President for Advancement will be invited to attend this session. The minutes of the Executive Committee and the Senate will reflect the nature of deliberations but not the specific facilities or names under consideration.
5.4 Only when the President publicly and officially announces the naming of a facility or property will confidentiality be lifted.
6.0 Pre-authorization for naming opportunities of campus facilities, when a donor gift is involved.
6.1 For proposals when donor gifts are involved, the campus may pre-authorize naming opportunities of campus facilities. Pre-authorization is used to set aside facilities that can be named according to consistent campus-wide guidelines.
6.2 The Vice President for Advancement, in consultation with the Senate Budget Advisory Committee, shall prepare and distribute guidelines for the naming of facilities that are to be used when a donor gift is involved. These guidelines shall take account of the size of the donor gift, the size and importance of the facility, and shall be adjustable over time to account for inflation etc.
6.3 Colleges and other entities may submit proposals for pre-authorization of naming opportunities. Such a proposal will take the form of reserving facilities associated with the College or entity, which can be named in honor of donors that meet the criteria developed in Section 3 of this policy.
6.4 Pre-authorization should be sought and will be considered through the same process as an actual facility naming. When pre-authorization is granted, the campus agrees in principle to naming the pre-authorized facilities for donors provided the specific names comport with the criteria listed in section 3 of this policy, and provided it occurs within a designated time period.
6.5 Final approval of a specific name for each facility must still be obtained though the regular process. It is suggested that all proposed names that are associated with the facilities included in a pre-authorized proposal be submitted as a package with a brief justification of each name.