510.4 Policy for Naming Buildings

Created 1978-12-15, Revised 1991-03-02, Edited 1994-01-01, Affirmed 2003-08-01

  1. Guidelines

    1. Names of buildings may be functional (e.g. Arts building) or may bear a person’s name.  Preference will be given to persons’ names, since this avoids problems when building use changes (e.g. Arts, “Old” Library, seminary).
    2. The person(s) for whom a building is named may be living or dead.  He or she should be either someone whose life has made a significant contribution to the College or the church, or someone who has given a major contribution for this building.

  2. Procedures

    1. An offer to name a building after a donor or someone whose life has made a significant contribution to the College or church may be developed in the process of securing a major gift that constitutes fifty percent or more of the construction costs of the building.  The decision to make such an offer will be the prerogative of the President of the College and will be made only after consulting the Board of Overseers; the Chair of the Advancement Committee; and the Mennonite Board of Education liaison to the Board of Overseers.  In such cases, the decision on the name will be reported to the Board of Overseers at the time of or prior to requesting approval to erect (or renovate) the building.
    2. If the name of the person who has played a significant role in the life of another MBE institution is recommended, MBE will also approve the recommendation, after checking with the other institutions(s).
    3. In all other cases, the proposal for the name of the building will be arrived at by any process deemed appropriate by the President of the College, and will be brought by the President as a recommendation for action.  No public announcements will be made regarding the name of the building until the Board of Overseers, and MBE as needed, have acted on the proposal.