College drops prof name after he excavated Indigenous site

College president says time to 'confront our past' after it came to light professor put Indigenous human remains on display back in 1899

Published May 12, 2026  •  Last updated 10 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Photo by Getty Images

A liberal arts college in Pennsylvania has dropped a professor’s name from one of its buildings after it came out that he excavated a Native American burial site. Critics, however, call the move revisionist.

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Swarthmore College removed Spencer Trotter’s name from its Trotter Hall building after learning that in 1899, the professor dug up remains from an Indigenous site and put them on display, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The professor, a member of the college’s biology department, reportedly promoted racial hierarchy in his work.

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College president Valerie Smith said last December that Trotter Hall would be renamed after an 18-month investigation. The hall currently bears the temporary name “Old Science Hall,” with a permanent name to be announced this fall.

“It is an acknowledgment of harm, a commitment to learn from our past, and an affirmation of our responsibility to care for the stories and legacies held on this campus,” she said. “I recognize that this news may stir a range of difficult emotions and concerns.”

‘Confront our past’

The Inquirer reported in April 2022 that two professors excavated a Lenape burial site, but the paper didn’t mention Trotter’s name. The site was donated to the Delaware Nation tribe for $1 in March of that year. The university revealed Trotter was one of the professors, with Smith saying in May 2023 that school must “reflect on and confront our past.”

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“Our work to try to answer those questions is ongoing. And none of these facts change the distressing truth that more than 120 years ago and for an unknown period thereafter, these remains were held and displayed here,” she said. “No matter the educational intentions or that these practices may have been commonplace at the time they occurred, these remains should have been treated with dignity and respect and should never have been removed from their burial site.”

Not everyone agrees

Some school graduates and faculty don’t agree with the renaming decision.

“I also don’t see the merit in renaming Trotter Hall,” said Swarthmore alumnus Steve Harari. “Revisionist behaviour like this undermines Swarthmore’s mission of intellectual honesty and curiosity.”

Associate professor of psychology Cat Norris, who spearheaded a task force to come up with a new name, said, ““We have gotten messages from people who say, ‘Why judge actions of someone 125 years ago by our current standards today?’ And that is a (fair) argument.”

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