Law School Considers Name Change

The University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law may be getting a name change.

In light of President Franklin Pierce’s opposition to abolition, students have called on the university to rethink the law school’s name, New Hampshire Public Radio reports.

In a press release, school officials announced that the law school has “begun to evaluate the law school’s name as part of the national conversation around historical and cultural symbols of the past.”

HISTORY

In 1973, the Franklin Pierce Law Center became the state’s only law school, according to NHPR.

In 2010, it merged with UNH to become the University of New Hampshire School of Law. Then, in 2019, the school was rebranded to the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. At the time, school officials said the new name change would help bring about name recognition for students and alumni.

STUDENT CONCERN

As protests have erupted across the world in response to police brutality and inequality, students at the law school have voiced concerns around the law school’s name.

“In a moment in history where people are taking down confederate monuments and renaming schools, for us to stand and do nothing in this moment sends a strong message and a dangerous message that they don’t take things seriously,” third-year student Sofia Hyatt tells NHPR.

In response, school officials have said they will make a decision by August 1 in regard to a name change.

“We’re moving as fast as we can while being as thoughtful as we can, and there’s quite a balance there,” UNH Franklin Pierce Law School Dean Megan Carpenter tells nhpr.

Sources: New Hampshire Public Radio, New York Times