A banner criticizing Leslie Wexner’s association with Ohio State was hung from the rooftop patio of Knowlton Hall on February 18th. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
Ohio State has received nearly 300 requests to review Les Wexner’s name on campus buildings as of Feb. 18.
Introduced in 2022, Ohio State has a portal to formally submit requests to review the names of university buildings through a Qualtrics form, Chris Booker, a university spokesperson, said in an email.
Wexner, founder of L Brands and chairman of the Wexner Medical Center, has been under public and judicial scrutiny for his longstanding ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
So far, Ohio State has consistently rejected any attempts to remove Wexner’s name off campus.
In a January interview with The Lantern, Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter said he does not have plans to remove Wexner’s name from campus buildings, according to prior Lantern reporting.
“I don’t want to speculate because we don’t know what’s coming or what’s going to happen, right?” Carter said. “There is a process for any kind of name changes. So we’ll follow all the processes that we have, but I don’t anticipate anything there.”
Ohio State also denied Steve Snyder-Hill’s request to remove Wexner’s name from the football complex in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. He is an Ohio State alumnus and a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Ohio State for its handling of sex abuser Dr. Richard Strauss.
Snyder-Hill has since resubmitted his request in documents obtained by The Lantern.
The last time people called on the university to remove names from campus buildings was in 2020 during the rise in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Ohio State received a request to remove William Oxley Thompson’s name from the Thompson Library for the leading role he played in segregating Columbus schools, per prior Lantern reporting. This request remains in the portal to this day.
Originally issued in 1992, Ohio State most recently revised its renaming policy in 2020, besides a few minor edits after.
“If at any time the university determines that the continued naming of a space or entity may compromise the university’s integrity or reputation, the university may amend or remove the name, upon approval by the president and Board of Trustees and notification of the donor, if possible,” said Article Four of the policy.
Here is the current process.
After a request is submitted, the university follows a five-step process to determine if a name will be modified or removed, according to a university website.?
The request is first sent to a Standing Advisory Committee for the Review of University Space and Entity Names to determine if the request provides evidence of “misconduct or other inappropriate behavior harmful to Ohio State’s reputation for excellence and its values of integrity and inclusiveness,” according to the website.
After this first review, the request is then evaluated by Ravi Bellamkonda, the university provost, who will determine if the request should advance to further review.
If the request advances, the committee will look at all of the facts surrounding the name to determine if the request should advance in the review process. In this stage, the committee decides if the reviewed name will be removed, modified or if any action will be taken. They will then issue a recommendation to Carter, according to the website.
Carter will review the recommendation with Bellamkonda to determine the decision of request.
“The President’s decision is final, except that if the President decides to remove a name or otherwise modify it, the matter must be advanced to the Board of Trustees for approval,” according to the website.
Finally, the Board of Trustees will make the decision to modify or remove the name.
Alexis Wade, a fourth-year in political science and senior director of communications for the Undergraduate Student Government, said that the general assembly will be bringing a resolution on Wednesday to the floor to remove Wexner’s name from university spaces, branding and official communications.?
“The student government’s perspective on it is parallel to most of the student body, if not all,” Wade said. “Basically just saying that they would like to call for the removal of Wexner’s name from Ohio State University’s spaces, entities and structures.”
Wexner’s name appears on Ohio State’s medical buildings, including branches around Ohio, the Wexner Center of the Arts — which is named after Wexner’s father, Harry L. Wexner — and the Wexner Football Complex within the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. He has donated over $200 million to the university over 30 years, according to the medical center.
Megan Kafka, an Ohio State alumni, submitted a request for Wexner’s name to be reviewed on Feb. 11. She said she provided substantial evidence and quotes to show how the situation is hurting Ohio State’s reputation.?
“When I saw that there’s a way to officially talk to the university and not just shoot an email into the void, I thought that this is a way to make my voice heard,” Kafka said. “Hopefully other people are doing this too, and we can all make our voices heard.
Kaleb Duarte, a third-year in architecture, helped design and drop the banner in front of Knowlton School, featuring Wexner’s image that read “oust Wexner” and “Wexner is in the files 1,322 times.”?
Duarte said that names carry meaning, and that students want to feel a sense of pride in their school.
“Students want their values to be reflected in the university,” Duarte said. “Names are a very powerful way to do that.”
