Swarthmore College removes professor’s name over burial site scandal

A small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania is removing a professor’s name from a campus building after it was revealed that he had dug up a Native American burial ground and promoted racial hierarchies.

Swarthmore College, located outside Philadelphia, removed Spencer Trotter’s name from the building formerly known as Trotter Hall, now tentatively called “Old Science Hall,” as it prepares to replace it with a permanent replacement. The college also removed Trotter’s name from the adjacent lawn.

The push to remove Trotter’s name followed the university’s more than two-year investigation. according to The Phoenix, the school’s student newspaper. The review follows a 2022 report highlighting excavations at a Lenape cemetery whose ownership later fell to Native Americans, the source reported.

A faculty-led task force that includes students, faculty and staff has since spent months reviewing records, surveying the campus community and narrowing down potential names, according to The Phoenix, with a final recommendation to the university president by May 1, 2026, before being sent to the Board of Regents for approval.

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The building has carried Trotter’s name since 1937, but a university investigation detailed in President Val Smith’s campus communication found that the longtime biology professor had excavated a Lenape burial site in 1899, removed human remains and displayed them on campus; these are actions the university now says are unethical.

The college said it was unable to determine what ultimately happened to the remains Trotter displayed, according to The Phoenix.

In a previous letter to the campus community, Smith apologized for the past, stating that remains “should never have been removed from burial sites” and calling the actions “inexcusable” even if such practices were more common at the time.

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Swarthmore College President Valerie Smith speaks during the Young Women’s Workshop: The Importance of Speaking at the Pennsylvania Women’s Conference 2018 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on October 12, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images)

But the decision also raised questions about whether such moves amounted to rewriting history.

That concern was addressed directly at a recent town hall, where some alumni and community members questioned whether removing Trotter’s name constituted revisionism, The Phoenix reported.

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Some alumni criticized the move as “revisionist” and argued it risked undermining the university’s commitment to historical research, according to The Phoenix.

Critics of the renaming say keeping Trotter’s name could allow the university to confront its past rather than eliminate visible reminders. Supporters say the change recognizes the harm caused by the excavation and display of Native American remains.

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Working group member and history professor Bob Weinberg pushed back, saying reevaluation of historical figures is part of the academic process.

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The academic building at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, which officials renamed Trotter Hall (Photo: GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“You don’t want to erase the past, but you want to acknowledge it … and explain why it’s important that we change it,” he said, according to the student newspaper.

The task force worked to identify a replacement that aligned with the university’s current priorities, including increasing diversity and selecting someone with direct ties to the institution.

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“It turns out the individuals are really complex,” task force chair Cat Norris told The Phoenix, noting the difficulty of vetting potential names.

Trotter, who taught for more than 30 years in the early 20th century, also faced criticism for writings described as “scientific racism,” including claims that Native Americans underutilized land later worked by Europeans.

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According to The Phoenix, proposals to name the building after the Lenape people were considered but ultimately rejected due to concerns that it could be seen as performative without the need for additional action.

The college also launched a broader review of the collection and handling of human remains, including new ethical standards for acquisition and repatriation, The Phoenix reported.

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The final decision on the new name of the building is expected to be made later this year.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the school for comment.