A positive solution to the controversy about the naming of a University award for women could be in sight now that Chancellor James Moeser has established a committee to examine the issue.
Moeser retired the Cornelia Phillips Spencer Bell Award, named after a University figure of the Reconstruction era, after questions arose regarding Spencer’s role as a white supremacist. The decision has drawn much criticism from Spencer’s descendents and members of the University community.
Now he is looking at a variety of options, including naming the award after Spencer’s descendents.
“If the committee decides that we do need an award for women, I will ask them to consider the creation of an award to honor the outstanding service given to the University by a succession of members of the Phillips, Spencer and Love families,” Moeser states in a letter sent to Spencer’s family Thursday.
He said naming an award to honor Spencer’s descendents would recognize the family’s long-standing commitment to the University and help alleviate the controversy.
“The difference is that the Bell Award focuses on a specific moment in history,” Moeser said during an interview Sunday evening. “That’s a very complicated part of our history. By focusing on the multigenerational aspects of the family, we focus on a much broader period of time.”
In response to the award’s retirement, Spencer’s descendents requested that Moeser either reconsider his decision or oversee the removal of Spencer’s name from Spencer Residence Hall. The family also wanted funding for the renovation of the Love House to be redirected.
But after a meeting with Moeser last week, the family has decided to rescind its requests.
“The chancellor seems to be committed to handling the entire situation in a favorable way,” said Charles Love, a great-grandson of Spencer and chairman of the Martha and Spencer Love Foundation. “We anticipate a favorable outcome to the whole controversy that both clarifies Cornelia Phillips Spencer’s positive legacy and the University’s approach in the future for dealing with historical revisionism.”
