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 he excavated a Native American burial site and promoted racial hierarchies.

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

The push to remove Trotter’s name follows a more than two-year investigation by the college, 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 later returned to Native American hands, the outlet reported.

According to The Phoenix, a faculty-chaired task force that includes students, faculty and staff has since spent months reviewing records, surveying the campus community and narrowing potential names, with a final recommendation due to the college president by May 1, 2026, before being sent for Board of Managers approval.

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

The college has said it has been unable to determine what ultimately happened to the remains Trotter displayed, according to The Phoenix.

In a prior letter to the campus community, Smith apologized for the history, stating the remains “should never have been removed from their burial site” and calling the actions “inexcusable,” even if such practices were more common at the time.

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

But the decision has also sparked questions about whether such moves amount to rewriting history.

At a recent town hall, that concern was raised directly, The Phoenix reported, with some alumni and community members questioning whether removing Trotter’s name constitutes revisionism.

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

Critics of the renaming say keeping Trotter’s name could allow the college to confront its history rather than remove visible reminders of it. Supporters say the change acknowledges 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 reassessing historical figures is part of the academic process.

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Academic building at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania where officials are renaming 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 are changing this,” he said, according to the student newspaper.

The task force has worked to identify a replacement name aligned with the college’s current priorities, including increasing diversity and choosing someone with direct ties to the institution.

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“It turns out individuals 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 around the turn of the 20th century, has also drawn criticism for writings described as “scientific racism,” including claims that Native Americans underutilized land later farmed by Europeans.

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Proposals to name the building after the Lenape people were considered but ultimately rejected over concerns they could be seen as performative without additional action, according to The Phoenix.

The college has also launched a broader review of its collections and handling of human remains, including new ethical standards for acquisition and repatriation, The Phoenix reported.

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

Digital reached out to the school for comment.