Michigan State University is moving to change the name of a campus building after learning that it’s named for a man who belonged to the Ku Klux Klan.
Stephen Nisbet’s membership card from the 1920s was discovered at a library at Central Michigan University, MSU said.
The human resources building is named for Nisbet, who was a member of the school’s governing board in the 1960s. He worked in education and business, and was chairman of the 1961 convention that produced Michigan’s constitution.
The building was named for Nisbet in 1974. He died in 1986.
“While Mr. Nisbet’s dedication and contributions to the state of Michigan are significant, his involvement with the KKK cannot be ignored, and these activities directly conflict with the values and mission of Michigan State University,” President Samuel Stanley Jr. said.
MSU trustees will vote on dropping Nisbet’s name at their Sept. 11 meeting.
“As leaders of this university, we must build a campus community we are all proud of — one that values collaboration, mutual respect, support for each other,” Stanley said. “This commitment must be manifested in ways that extend well beyond words.”