Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania has renamed its Old Science Hall to Edley-Morgan Hall in honor of alumnus Christopher F. Edley Jr. (1953–2024) and former professor Kathryn L. Morgan (1919–2010).
The effort to rename the new Edley-Morgan Hall began in 2025 after Swarthmore discovered the building’s former namesake, Spencer Trotter, was involved in the excavation and display of Native American human remains and the promotion of racial hierarchies in his academic work. Swarthmore removed all references to Trotter and temporarily referred to the building as its former name, Old Science Hall. The college then formed a task force of faculty, administrators, students, and external partners who worked together to decide the hall’s new permanent name.
Edley graduated from Swarthmore College in 1973 with high honors, earning his bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He went on to receive his master of public policy degree and his juris doctorate from Harvard University. Edley later served 23 years on the faculty of Harvard Law School, where he co-founded the Harvard Civil Rights Project. After Harvard, he spent nine years as dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley. As a leading authority on public policy, Edley held budget positions with Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, advised five presidential campaigns, and served on President Barack Obama’s Transition Board with responsibility for education, immigration, and health.
A scholar of African American folklore, history, and culture, Dr. Morgan was a two-time HBCU graduate, receiving her bachelor’s degree from what is now Virginia State University and her master’s degree from Howard University. She later earned a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in her hometown of Philadelphia. Dr. Morgan joined the Swarthmore faculty in 1970, making her the college’s first African American professor. She would later earn tenure at the college, becoming the first African American woman and second African American to do so. Dr. Morgan retired as the Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Professor Emerita of History.
“This renaming is an important milestone, but not the end of this work,” said Swarthmore College President Valerie Smith. “Our further efforts will also ensure that this reckoning with the past is appropriately documented and acknowledged so our community can continue to learn and heal.”
