Swarthmore College removes professor’s name over burial site scandal

A small Pennsylvania liberal arts college is scrubbing a professor’s name from a campus building after revelations that it excavated a Native American burial site and promoted racial hierarchies.

Swarthmore College, outside Philadelphia, has already removed Spencer Trotter’s name from the building that was known as Trotter Hall, now temporarily labeled “Old Science Hall,” as it works on a permanent replacement. The college also removed Trotter’s name from a nearby lawn.

The drive to clear Trotter’s name follows a more than two-year college investigation, according to the school’s student newspaper, the Phoenix. The review followed a 2022 report that highlighted the excavation of a Lenape burial site whose ownership was returned to Native American hands, the report said.

According to The Phoenix, a team working under the chairman of the college that includes students, faculty and staff has since spent months reviewing records, examining the campus community and narrowing down potential names, with a final recommendation to the president of the college on May 1, 2026, before being sent for approval by the Board of Trustees.

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The building has borne Trotter’s name since 1937, but a college review, detailed in a communication from President Val Smith, found that the longtime biology professor excavated a Lenape burial site in 1899, removed human remains and displayed them on campus, actions the college now says were unethical.

The college said it could not determine what ultimately happened to Trotter who was shown, according to The Phoenix.

In a previous letter to the campus community, Smith apologized for the history, saying the remains “should not have been removed from their place” and calling the actions “inexcusable,” even if such practices were common at the time.

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

But the decision also raised questions about whether these measures amount to rewriting history.

At a recent town hall, those concerns were raised directly, the Phoenix reported, with some alumni and community members asking if removing Trotter’s name meant a review.

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Some alumni have criticized the move as “revisionist,” saying it risks undermining the college’s commitment to historical inquiry, according to The Phoenix.

Critics of the renaming say keeping Trotter’s name would allow the college to deal with its history rather than removing its physical reminders. Supporters say the change acknowledges the harm caused by the excavation and display of Native American remains.

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Task Force member and history professor Bob Weinberg pushed back, saying that reexamining historical figures is part of the academic process.

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An academic building at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania that officials renamed Trotter Hall (Photo by: 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 this,” he said, according to the student newspaper.

A task force worked to identify a successor that aligns with the college’s current priorities, including increasing diversity and selecting someone with a strong connection to the institution.

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“It turns out that people are really complicated,” 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, has also come under fire for writings described as “scientific racism,” including allegations that Native Americans underutilized land later cultivated by Europeans.

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Proposals for the building to be named after the Lenape people were considered but rejected because they could be seen as viable without further action, according to The Phoenix.

The college is also launching a comprehensive review of its collection and management of human remains, including new ethical standards for acquisition and repatriation, the Phoenix reports.

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A final decision on the building’s new name is expected later this year.

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