IU is re-naming all campus landmarks previously named for David Starr Jordan.
This leads to the question, just how much of Jordan’s legacy is being removed from IU?

Residents of Bloomington all know the iconic Jordan Avenue, Jordan Hall, and Jordan Parking Garage. Many have also noticed name changes being put into place at these locations. But why? How much do people really know about David Starr Jordan and why his name is being removed?

Logan Geyman, a junior molecular life sciences major called Jordan “problematic” because of his ties to the eugenics movement in the early 1900s.

David Starr Jordan was an Ichthyologist and Professor of Zoology at Indiana University, starting in 1879. He also served as IU’s seventh president from 1884-1891. He was a revered president, and ultimately doubled enrollment at IU during his presidency. After leaving IU, he went on to become the founding president of Stanford University.

At the same time, Jordan was also a leader of the Eugenics Movement, and wrote an essay in 1899 called “A Study and Decay of Races through the Survival of the Unfit”. The essay argued the importance of racial segregation and maintaining racial purity. in 1928, Jordan was appointed to the Board of trustees on the Human Betterment Foundation, as well as chairing the Committee on Eugenics of the American Breeders Association.

The Committee to Review the Jordan Namings, headed by Dean of Maurer Law Austen Parrish, was appointed by IU President McRobbie to learn Jordan’s history in totality. The group created the plan to re-name the areas on campus once named after Jordan. They wrote this 48 page document on their reasoning behind the changes, and the plan moving forward.

David Starr Jordan’s legacy may be flawed, but IU is determined to not let his research and work be forgotten. Jordan’s portrait is still hanging in President’s Hall, and his research still bears his name. Parrish explained in his interview why Jordan’s legacy is not being removed entirely from IU.

“So, the report made a big difference between remembering and revering, and we were really clear that one of the criticisms in some name removals is that you erase history, and then you don’t learn from it. That idea of “cancelling”, and that’s not what’s happening here” Parrish said. “Part of the University’s mission is to educate, and to ensure that we accurately portray history, and so I think it was important we got it right”

While Jordan’s picture still hangs in Presidents Hall, and his research is still filed under his own name, Jordan’s name is already gone from many parts of Campus. The Biology Building, East Parking Garage, and Campus River have all donned their new temporary names. Permanent names, (most likely commemorating another valuable member of the IU community) are due to replace the filler names within the next year. Sections of Jordan Avenue are also expected to be changed within the next year with the approval of Monroe County.