March 20, 2008
Donors Ask U. of Mississippi to Remove Names From Building
One of the University of Mississippi’s biggest donors, Richard (Dickie) Scruggs and his wife, Diane, have asked the university to remove their names from the campus’s music building, just days after Mr. Scruggs pleaded guilty to bribing a state judge.
Mr. Scruggs is best known as the lawyer who helped the state of Mississippi win $4-billion from tobacco companies in 1998, and who more recently prevailed on behalf on Hurricane Katrina victims in a lawsuit against their insurer. The bribery charge stemmed from a dispute over legal fees in the insurance case.
Mr. Scruggs and his wife have donated more than $25-million to the university.
The university’s chancellor, Robert Khayat, said no one had asked the Scruggses to seek their names’ removal. “That tells your readers something about them,” Mr. Khayat said in an interview this week with the Clarion Ledger, a local newspaper. “There are some people who would not have done that.” The request is part of the “consent agenda” for the university’s governing board, which is meeting today.
Indeed, over the years, some universities have resisted calls to remove the names of disgraced donors from buildings.
Goldie Blumenstyk | Posted on Thursday March 20, 2008 | PermalinkComments
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That’s the problem with naming buildings after living persons. It’s much safer to wait until they are dead, the obituaries written, and all outstanding warrants are in the dust bin.
— Carl A. McNeece Mar 20, 08:20 PM #