What should a college do when one of its most generous corporate benefactors may also have been responsible for the deaths of 15 of its employees?

The board of the College of the Mainland, a two-year institution in Texas City, Tex., faced that question this week amid criticism of its designation of BP, the huge oil company, as a “Corporate Hero” for the hundreds of thousands of dollars it has donated to the college, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle. BP was fined $21-million for hundreds of safety violations that were disclosed during an investigation of a March 2005 refinery explosion that killed 15. Another inquiry could result in criminal charges stemming from the blast.

As for the board, it voted unanimously on Monday to find another way to recognize BP’s contributions to the college.