Rutgers president: University won’t change name despite namesake’s ties to slavery

The new president of Rutgers University says that the university will not change its name during his tenure despite Henry Rutgers’ ties to slavery.

President Jonathan Holloway, the university’s first Black president, discussed the topic Monday while speaking with the press. There had been some suggestions that the university should change its name because Henry Rutgers was a slave owner.

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“Names have value that exceed someone’s existence. So, in the case of the namesake…where are we going to find names, if we go back historically speaking, that don’t have blood money associated to them?” Holloway said.

But Holloway did say that the topic and history should always be discussed.